Once and Again
by starlightmint
Summary: At their 10 year reunion, Gabriella's life changes when she meets Troy again.
1. The Invitation

**Disclaimer: **It's probably obvious, but I don't own any of the HSM characters or their related elements.

**Author's Note: **This story was written originally to fulfill the reunion theme of the HSM Romance Challenge, but I liked it too much to leave it as a oneshot. Because they're older things get a bit more explicit, hence a rating of M.

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**Chapter 1 - The Invitation**

I snatched the phone up as it rang, balancing the receiver on my shoulder. "Hello?"

"So. Did you get it this morning?"

Taylor never said hi anymore. Investment banking made her even more blunt and businesslike than she used to be. Plus she called me so often at work, I already knew her voice instantly. We'd stayed close after high school and got even closer when I moved to New York last year.

"Tay… I don't know what you're talking about." I swiveled on my chair, reaching for the stack of mail I picked up from my slot near the secretary's desk.

"The invitation, Gabi." She sounded mildly irritated. Taylor never liked to explain things more than once. "I got it in my mail this morning and I'm sure you did too. I mean, you were valedictorian after all."

I flipped absently through the mail stack, picking out the invoices and pitches I wanted to deal with in the morning. "Valedictorian? That was back in high school…"

But I trailed off. There it was. The white envelope with the red E for East High on it. And a bright red stamp diagonally across it: _2017 – Your 10-Year Reunion!_

"No no no no no." My stomach did a weird twist, and I tore the envelope open, scanning the details of the event. "No way, Taylor. I can barely cover my rent on what they pay me at the magazine. And there's no way I can take a four-day weekend off…."

"Don't be ridiculous," she said briskly. "You loved high school. I know you're dying to go. And don't worry, it's all taken care of."

I switched the phone to my other ear. "What?"

"I booked us plane tickets already." She let out a chuckle. "You don't need to thank me. We'll be in coach all the way. So now all you've got to do is get the time off work."

I fumbled for the words. "But I can't…"

"The reunion's in a month, so of course you can." Her keyboard clicked in the background. "OK, I gotta go. Conference call with Japan in ten. See you."

_Damn. _I put the phone down, my heart sinking. My boss wasn't going to like this. But I guessed I had no choice.

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"God… I can't believe it took us twelve hours to get here."

I grabbed my bag out of the overhead compartment and walked unsteadily off the plane. Somehow Taylor still looked refreshed, pulling the handle out of her miniature carry-on case and dragging it behind her on its wheels. "I told you not to thank me," she said. "A four-hour layover in O'Hare made the coach tickets an even better deal."

I rolled my eyes. "Well, thanks for the heads up, anyway."

We followed the signs to our baggage carousel, blinking in the bright New Mexico sunlight. I could see Mom standing there among the crowd with her hand on a luggage cart, her face already breaking out into her familiar smile. She always looked the same, except for a few more grey strands of hair every time I saw her.

"Gabi!" She wrapped me up in one of her huge hugs. "And Taylor! You look more beautiful every time I see you."

Even prissy old Taylor couldn't resist my mom. "Hi, Ms. Montez." She hugged her warmly. "You look wonderful too. How's Gary?"

"Fine, fine," said Mom, beaming. Gary was my stepdad and a pretty nice guy. They got married during my senior year and had been going strong ever since. "He's at work right now, so you only get me to pick you up." She patted the cart. "So get your luggage, girls! I'm ready."

I laughed, kissing her on the cheek. "OK… I think I see mine coming there, actually."

I ran over to the carousel and grabbed the red suitcase by the handle. But it seemed heavier than I remembered, and I couldn't get it off. Bracing myself, I pulled harder. But this time, it was too hard. I got the suitcase off the carousel but stumbled back with its weight, bumping into someone walking by with another luggage cart.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa there."

There was something about that voice that sounded familiar. I turned around and looked into a pair of unmistakable blue eyes. My knees suddenly felt weak, something I never knew could really happen outside of romance novels. It was… Troy.

"Gabriella?" He looked at me incredulously, that grin of his spreading on his face. He looked just the same… just a little bit older, a little more wear and tear about the face and the eyes. But he still stood straight and tall and strong, with that same mop of shaggy hair, and the same ability to make my heart do backflips just by looking at me.

He stared at me, definitely smiling now. "So… I guess you're here for the reunion?"

"Yeah," I choked out. My mouth suddenly felt dry. "You… too?"

"It's tough not to." He grinned. "When Jack Bolton says jump, you say how high. And when it comes to East High, he's pretty clear. He spent his whole career at that school, so he loves the place. If I didn't show up, I'd never hear the end of it."

A smile crept onto my face. I'd forgotten his dad had coached basketball here. Slowly, the memories of high school were seeping back into my head. Especially the ones involving… Troy.

"Are you staying at your mom's while you're in town?"

I blinked back to reality. He was looking at me warmly. I still felt dumbstruck. "Yeah, for the weekend while I'm here. I've still got the bedroom with the balcony, right."

I clamped my mouth shut quickly. The bedroom with the balcony? What the hell was I saying?

But he was looking at me with a slight wistfulness. "Yeah… I remember." Then suddenly it seemed as if he jerked back to reality too. He seemed disoriented, but he hadn't taken his eyes off my face. I felt my cheeks turning red. "Gab… I'm sorry. My dad's waiting… I've got to get my luggage and get out of here." He grinned sheepishly. "He's really excited. I don't know. But… I'll see you later, hey?"

He looked suddenly hopeful. I nodded. "Tonight at the dinner?"

"Definitely." He grinned again, his eyes lingering on mine for a beat, and then he turned to a different carousel, chasing his luggage down.

"Hey… was that…?" Taylor's voice was suddenly in my ear. I turned to her, nodding silently.

"Well, you look all hot and bothered," she said, giving me a teasing look. "Maybe the twelve hours in transit was worth it after all."

"Nah," I said. "He's probably happily married with two perfect kids and a white picket fence somewhere. Troy the basketball star always came out on top."

I pushed her arm jokingly, but somewhere inside… I kind of hoped she was right.

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"So Gabi… what happened with you and Troy anyway?"

Mom looked at me as I shut the car door behind me. We had just dropped off Taylor at her parents' place. I knew Mom had been dying to ask since she found out Troy was at the airport.

"Well…"

I didn't know how to explain. We made it all the way through high school… and then he was at UCLA, and I was at Harvard for my chem degree. It got murky then. I felt completely absorbed into a new world where he just didn't seem to fit. Our phone calls got farther and farther apart. We said we'd visit, but never did. Then he forgot my birthday the next year, and I didn't really mind. Eventually, I called him to tell him we were in different places, we needed to let each other go. He agreed, but I think we both knew we were already long gone.

But I had to admit… some sliver of me always thought about him. Through Harvard, through my grad studies at MIT, through the run of boyfriends I'd had since. Late at night, I'd sometimes dream about the time when we were together. His body against mine. The way he always made me laugh. His quiet confidence in himself… and in me.

I always woke up feeling safe and happy.

In the car, Mom looked over. "Was it a bad breakup, Gabi?" Her hand reached for mine. "Really, you don't have to tell me if it's too hard."

"No, Mom." I shook my head, looking out the window. "Me and Troy… we just lost touch."


	2. The Dinner

**Disclaimer: **It's probably obvious, but I don't own any of the HSM characters or their related elements.

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**Chapter 2 – The Dinner**

"Talk about cheap," Taylor scoffed, reading the invitation in the seat beside me as I maneuvered my mom's car into the parking lot. "Having the dinner in the school gym. Couldn't we have gotten a hotel or something? They must have some tiny budget."

I laughed. "It kind of makes sense. High school reunion, have it in the high school."

She snorted. "Cleverly disguised cheap then. Blackmailing us into acceptance through a thick fog of nostalgia. The food better be spectacular, or I'm not buying it for a second."

"Why'd you even come if you're just going to ridicule all of it?"

Taylor looked at me in disbelief. "Because I want to see how everybody turned out. Gabi, I wouldn't have missed this for the world."

Rolling my eyes at her, I found an empty spot and parked the car. We got out, walking over to the building until we found ourselves in front of East High.

"Wow," I breathed, staring at the stone sign above the door. "This brings back memories, doesn't it?"

"Completely." Taylor finally sounded kind of sincere. She looked over at me, her face vulnerable. "Are you really ready for this?"

I took a deep breath and nodded. "Let's do it."

Entering the school, everything seemed new but eerily familiar at the same time. Walking toward the gym, I felt myself flashing back to the moments I'd had in those hallways. That door was my English class. There was Chad's old locker. That was Ms. Darbus's room… where I first ran into Troy after that Christmas vacation.

Taylor's hand plucked at my elbow. "Oh my God… look…"

We had reached the entrance to the gym. The doors were held wide open, revealing a softly lit banquet room with about twenty tables set up. If the bleachers and the basketball hoops weren't there, it would have really looked like a hotel ballroom. I gave Taylor a told-you-so look. "And you thought they were being cheap."

Suddenly, we were both swept up in a hug. "Gabi, Taylor!" Letting us go, we could see Chad smiling back at us. His hair still sprung forth in a curly mass, but it was shorter than it used to be. The grin, though, was as wide as ever. "This is crazy, isn't it? What a blast from the past!" he said.

I grinned at him. "Chad, you look just the same! How have you been?"

"Never better," he said. "No more basketball though. I did a bit of college ball but after that I did my degree in physiotherapy. Sports medicine might be next… if the wife agrees." He glanced happily over to a stunning black haired woman sitting at his table.

He turned back to me, smiling delightedly again, and suddenly grabbed my hand and twirled me. My dress, a black wrap with silver thread shot through it, floated out at my knees. "But Gabi… you look amazing! Even better than you did in high school, if that was possible."

"Thanks," I said, stumbling slightly out of the spin. "Took years of plastic surgery though."

He stared at me for a minute in silence. I laughed. "Chad… I'm kidding."

"Oh, right!" he said, his voice regaining its brightness. "And Taylor. You look fantastic too. I heard you were in banking."

"Yep, I've been at Morgan Stanley/Dean Witter for five years." Taylor loved to talk about her job. "It's hard work, but you know me. I love it."

Chad nodded in interest… then suddenly his eyes drifted to the door. He smiled brightly at us again. "Hey. Hold that thought. I've just got to say hi to someone…" He ran off toward the door, hugging a blonde girl that came in.

Taylor poked me. "I don't know what I ever saw in him." She suddenly gasped softly. "Oh my God, check out Sharpay…"

I looked over to see Sharpay walking towards us in high stiletto heels and a form-fitting pink sequined dress. Her hair was still done in the bouffant style she wore in high school, but her face seemed much more puffy around the edges. She put her arms around me and pressed my shoulders to her shoulders delicately.

"Gabriella Montez," she said, her smile a brilliant white. "Why, you don't look a day older than when I last saw you. And Taylor McKessie." She did the same careful hug with Taylor and then looked her straight in the eyes. "You look absolutely wonderful. What have you been up to?"

"Investment banking in New York," said Taylor, a little too quickly. I knew she was dying to find out about Sharpay's life. "And what have you been doing?"

"Well, you know." Sharpay waved her hand in the air and smiled mysteriously. "A little of this, a little of that. I mostly work in the charitable organizations around Albuquerque now when I can spare a moment." She laughed. "I'm married to Chris Auger, you see. Our two little boys take up most of our time."

I could feel Taylor pinching my elbow again. Chris Auger was one of Albuquerque's most successful businessmen. He owned the four biggest car dealerships in town.

"That's great, Sharpay!" Taylor sounded over the top fake, but Sharpay didn't seem to notice. "What happened to Ryan? Is he here?"

"Oh…" She waved her hand again. "He's in New York actually. On Broadway. He has a role in some musical." She sniffed. "We don't really talk too much anymore."

"But he's your twin brother," Taylor blurted out.

"Well…" Sharpay looked away dramatically. "Times change. People change."

But I started to drift out of their conversation. I could see Troy sitting at one of the nearby tables… and he was looking at me. I felt myself blushing—he wore a blue shirt that matched his eyes and grey pants, effortlessly handsome. But he suddenly looked away as he saw my eyes fall on him. And I quickly tore my eyes away and turned back to Taylor.

Sharpay, however, had already tottered off somewhere else. And looking at Taylor, I knew she had seen me looking over at Troy. Without warning, she moved quietly behind me, then shoved me in his direction.

_Thanks a lot, Taylor_, I thought. Yelping, I skidded on the floor, almost falling over my high heels as I stopped just before him. "Aaaahhh…"

"Hey." He reached out to steady me and smiled. "Looks like you're always falling into my path, Montez."

My heart twinged. He used to call me by my last name in high school. "Yeah," I said, sitting down in the seat beside him. "Just lucky, I guess?"

"I guess so." He grinned, turning slightly toward me, as if to say something more. But before he could speak, a familiar voice boomed out through the speakers in the gym.

"Students! Could I have your attention please?

Ms. Darbus was standing at a podium at the front of the gym, still wearing one of those crazy coloured outfits she wore in high school. Her hair was much whiter and her waist was a touch thicker, but otherwise she seemed just the same.

"Welcome back to East High!" she said proudly. A round of applause went up from the audience. "We are delighted to host the 10 year reunion of the class of 2007 this weekend. Tonight, of course, is the introduction dinner where you can get to know your classmates all over again. Please find your seats, everyone. Each of your names is at one of the place settings." She leaned closer to the microphone. "And the sooner we get ourselves organized, the sooner we can eat."

People started to rush around. I stood up, grinning sheepishly. "Well, I guess I'd better find my seat."

He nodded, and it looked like he swallowed hard. "Right."

I walked around to the other tables. Taylor was seated next to Chad and his wife, and looked just as thrilled to be there as I thought she would. But I didn't see my name at the place beside hers. I looked around the room, and realized most of the seats had been taken…. except the one I had been sitting in beside Troy.

He watched me as I walked back over. There was my name in front of the plate.

"Welcome back," he said, smiling.

I sat down beside him and laughed, feeling like an idiot. "Well… I guess I didn't need to go that far to find out where I needed to be."

He folded his arms, wearing a teasing grin that used to drive me wild… and really, kind of still did. "Not at all, Montez," he said. "Not at all."


	3. The Escape

**Disclaimer: **It's probably obvious, but I don't own any of the HSM characters or their related elements.

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**Chapter 3 – The Escape**

There were eight people at our table and it turned out Jason and Kelsi were two of them. I knew they had dated for awhile in high school, but they wound up just being great friends. They'd gone to college together and now had a sort of elevated brother-sister kind of relationship. For most of dinner, Kelsi kept telling us stories about the crazy things she and Jason had gotten up to in our years apart, and then the two of them would hoot and holler, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

"Like this one time, oh my God…" Kelsi nudged Jason, smiling. "So me and Jason were in Barcelona and it was our last night in town. We were trying to find a mailbox at like 4am. Our flight was in less than three hours. But I'd promised to send my sister a postcard from Spain. I had the card, and the stamp, and everything. Just no mailbox."

"Wasn't there one in the airport you could use before you flew out?" I said.

"Gabriella." Kelsi looked over at me as if I were stupid, then she and Jason burst out laughing again. "I didn't say we were _sober_!"

Well, I didn't think she was sober right now. But I grinned and shrugged at them, pretending to be apologetic. Kelsi and Jason didn't notice. They kept going with the story, repeating the details of the crazy mailbox search with obvious glee. Unintentionally, I yawned, clapping my hand over my mouth.

Suddenly beside me, I heard Troy cough loudly and something fell in my lap. I looked down to see a crumpled-up paper napkin. I looked at him uncertainly. _Open it_, he mouthed, putting his hand over his mouth to hide from Kelsi and Jason.

I smoothed it out. In blue pen, he had written, _Feel like getting out of here for a bit?_

I looked up and smiled, nodding. He grabbed the napkin, scribbled on it again and tossed it back to me. It read: _I'll go, then wait a couple minutes and you go too. _

_Where?_ I mouthed at him. He pointed up.

I smiled again. A few minutes later, he excused himself from the table, and I followed.

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"Hey," he said as I came up the stairs. "This feels familiar."

He stood holding the stair railing on the roof garden, in the same place he was standing when I first visited it all those years ago. Climbing up to him, it felt like I was walking back into the past, wrapped in the memory of being new to school and in love for the first time. But my body instinctively knew that time was long gone, leaving me both intensely excited and extremely nervous as I approached him.

"Wow, it's like a jungle up here," I said, smiling. I came around and put my hands on the railing next to his. My heart seemed to be speeding up.

He laughed. "Yeah, just like that dinner down there." He looked at me straight on. "OK, seriously though. Didn't you want to die every time Kelsi opened her mouth?"

I laughed, feeling some of my nervous tension disappear. "Yeah, that girl sure has a lot of stories to tell. A total change from high school, that's for sure."

Troy put his hand over his face. "Oh man, I knew it. I felt like I couldn't get a word in edgewise. And Jason too. Oh God." He dropped the hand and looked at me. "Remind me to find out who arranged the seating plan so I can kill them later."

"Darbus, probably. She knew all the couples from our year." I grinned, feeling even more at home. He seemed just like the same old Troy. "And I know you could probably take her if you tried real hard."

He laughed, nudging me with his elbow as he looked away. Smiling, I leaned on the railing beside him and looked around at the roof garden, which seemed to now have more plants than I remembered. I spotted the old bench in the corner and motioned to Troy that I was going to sit down. He came with me, sitting slightly sideways to look at me while I leaned back next to him. The evening air between us felt electrified.

"So, 28, huh." He grinned. "That's crazy. You really don't look it."

I smiled. "Neither do you," I said sincerely. "Really. You look great."

"Yeah, well… so do you." He seemed to blush, and he ducked his head, scratching his neck and looking away for a minute. I couldn't help but smile.

"So I never got a chance to find out about you earlier," I said, cocking my head at him teasingly. "What are you up to lately, Troy?"

"Ah." He looked slightly sheepish. "I'm… at a dot-com in San Francisco." He shrugged. "I know, I know, it's very late 1990s or something. But I really like it. It's all to do with photo management and user communities. I do some programming, a lot more management, a bit of troubleshooting." He laughed. "Yeah, not where I saw myself in high school either."

"Wow," I said, smiling at him. "So our Wildcat superstar traded the court for the computer."

"Yeah." He sat back next to me companionably, his shoulder suddenly touching mine and sending a charge through me. "Well. I was a good basketball player but never anything that special out of high school. So computing was really what I focused on during college when I got that basketball scholarship." He nudged my side. "I was lucky. I knew what I wanted to study and it all worked out well. You really helped with that."

"I did?"

"Yeah." He grinned. "During high school, hanging out with you… I got to see a lot more academic, intellectual stuff than I usually did." He laughed softly. "And you showed me a lot in the math department. I found I could deal with algorithms and programming pretty elegantly. And it turned out that I liked it."

"That's crazy." I felt warm again and looked away. "It's so long ago. I can't believe I had any kind of influence on your career choice."

"Well," he said. "I think you did, anyway. I always feel like I owe you a commission or something from whatever I earn."

I laughed. "Hey, I'll take it," I said. "I'm not exactly putting away the cash at my job. Taylor actually bought my ticket to come out here. Although I don't think it cost her that much --- it took a million hours and I'm pretty sure we were just a step above riding in cargo."

But suddenly he was looking at me, curious. "Really? You're not making that much?"

Oh man. Why did I say that? "No. Not really," I said, embarrassed.

He folded his arms and shifted in his seat next to me. "Sorry. I'm not trying to judge. I mean, I guess it's just fine. I just… always figured you for one of those super high-end lab jobs. You know, secretly running the world while the rest of us just twiddled our thumbs."

My cheeks burned. That's what everybody thought. "Nah. I work at a magazine now."

"A magazine?"

"It's a science magazine called _nucleus_," I said. "It's a bit different. I guess you'd call it 'hip' or 'edgy' or something. The title's all in lowercase. Not exactly Scientific American." I crossed my legs, suddenly uncomfortable. "I don't know. I wasn't really happy with my grad work in chemistry, so I thought it would be a nice break before I figured out my next move."

"And… is it?"

He caught me off-guard. No one had ever asked me that before. A weird rush of emotion suddenly spread through me, tears even pricking my eyes as I answered. "Actually… no. I don't think I really like it."

"Oh, no." He sounded really disappointed for me.

"Yeah… I know." I blinked back the tears and looked away. Suddenly my mouth opened again. "I don't know. Sometimes I feel kind of like my life got away from me, you know? Like I had the keys to the world… but I forgot where I parked it."

I didn't know why I kept telling him all this. Only that he seemed to be really listening. And somehow, with him I felt… good. Like I didn't have to pretend anymore.

Then unexpectedly, I felt his arm curve around my shoulders, pulling me toward him tentatively. I rested my head on his shoulder and felt suddenly better. "Ahhh. That really sucks, Gabi." He paused, careful. "I'm really sorry. I always wanted to see you happy at whatever you were doing. But I guess we all get confused sometimes. And I mean… it's not wrong."

I sighed. "You know, I just really, really wish life had a user's manual."

"Well… I guess you've got to write your own as you go along."

"As if that's not the most ass-backward process ever," I said, exasperated, and suddenly he laughed hard, as if surprised. It sent a warm vibration through me, and oddly, I didn't feel sad at all anymore.

"This is going to sound dumb—but I'd forgotten how funny you could be," he said.

"Thank you," I said, grinning. "My misery amuses you. I'm glad."

"Gabi," he laughed. "Sorry. That was dumb of me to say. I kind of meant it as a good thing. I wasn't exactly looking forward to this reunion… so I'm really enjoying the fact that I've got a friend here and she's got a great sense of humor."

Then suddenly, there was an awkward pause. He moved his arm slightly, resting it more on the top edge of the bench rather than my shoulders. "So Montez, what about the rest of your life?" He caught himself. "I mean… is it still even Montez? I guess I've just been assuming. But do you have a family, or anything right now?"

Ah. The big question.

"No family that I'm aware of," I said. "And really… not much else right now." I shrugged. "I don't know what my excuse is. I've had steady boyfriends, but no one at the moment. I have been on a lot of bad dates recently though, so it's not like I haven't been trying. Just that I haven't been… succeeding."

"Right," he said. His body seemed to relax slightly. I elbowed him playfully.

"And what about you?" I said, pretending to sound blithe. I braced myself for the inevitable disappointment. "Did you leave the wife and kids at home this time around?"

But oddly… he laughed. "Ahhh, my parents only wish. No. Strangely enough… I think I'm in the same boat as you." He rubbed the back of his neck absently and let out a breath. "I broke up with my college girlfriend a couple years ago. I haven't seemed to find anyone else yet. Been on a lot of bad dates though. A _lot_."

I looked over at him abruptly. "So…"

He looked back at me, grinning. "So yeah. It looks like we're the lonely hearts club this weekend, Montez."

He laughed, then suddenly his arm was around me again, pulling me closer to his side than before. And as if an instinct had been triggered, my arm wrapped across his stomach, flashing back to how we used to sit when we watched TV together way back when. It all felt warm, comfortable, and completely… right.

And we sat there like that for a few moments until a sound came from the stairs and we jumped apart. Standing up quickly, I saw Chad's curly head pop up, his wife's hand clasped firmly in his. "You're going to love this roof…"

He trailed off as he saw us. "Hey Troy, Gabi. Nice night to be up here."

"Yeah," said Troy, shooting me a look as he grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the stairs. "Brings back a lot of memories, Chad. Thanks. Thanks a lot."


	4. The Return

**Disclaimer: **It's probably obvious, but I don't own any of the HSM characters or their related elements.

**AUTHOR'S SUPER IMPORTANT WARNING NOTE – PLEASE READ**

OK. I cannot stress this enough. THIS FIC IS RATED **M**. THERE WILL BE **SOME ADULT CONTENT **IN THIS STORY.

It sort of starts in this chapter and will definitely be in the ones following. It's not too gratuitous and definitely not overly explicit—FF doesn't allow that sort of thing—but I just want you all to be prepared and not freak out when something sexy happens. I also don't want this story kicked off the site because somebody didn't realize the story rating and decides to report me. Sorry if it all seems paranoid – I have had stories kicked off and it really sucks.

And just so we're all clear, according to the guidelines, a rating of M means: **Not suitable for children or teens below the age of 16 with possible strong but non-explicit adult themes, references to violence, and strong coarse language.**

So if you're under 16 and/or don't like strong non-explicit adult content regarding sex, I would strongly advise you not to continue with this story. Don't say I didn't warn you. I'll also emphasize that this kind of story _is _permissible on FF, so please resist before you hit that report button!

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**Chapter 4 – The Return**

Getting into the car, Taylor let out a huge breath.

"Oh my God," she said as I pulled out of the parking lot. "You were so lucky not to be at my table. I can't believe how boring Chad got. All he talked about was Albuquerque real estate prices and basement remodeling ideas for the entire night."

I laughed. "I don't know, that sounds right up your alley."

"Oh, of course." She rolled her eyes. "I don't know how he got that woman to marry him. Maybe deep down inside, she gets really turned on by home renovations."

"Or maybe she's just been hired for the reunion."

Taylor caught her breath. "Wow---you might be onto something there."

"Taylor, come on." We hit a stoplight and I looked at her. "He wouldn't seriously hire somebody just to pretend he had a life."

"Or would he?" Taylor's eyes flashed as we started moving again. "Maybe I'll ask her some questions at the reunion picnic tomorrow. See what she's all about."

Suddenly she looked at me slyly. "Hey… and I've got some questions for you while I'm at it. What was with you and Troy tonight? I know I gave you a nudge earlier, but I saw you two disappear in the middle of dinner. Don't tell me there's nothing going on there."

"Ahh, we were just getting away from Jason and Kelsi," I said, keeping my eyes on the road. "Those two got a bit much after awhile. We went out onto the roof garden and talked a little. Nothing happened."

But Taylor folded her arms and looked at me teasingly. "Yeah, right, Gabi. I know you. And I saw you two hugging before we left as well. If something hasn't happened yet, it probably will soon." She paused for a minute. "So does he have a wife and kids after all?"

I turned the corner to her parents' house. "Actually, he doesn't."

She laughed, getting out of the car. "Then forget probably. Something definitely will happen between you two." She waved. "Have a good night."

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But hard as I tried that night, I couldn't fall asleep. I felt strange being back in my old bedroom after years of being away. What made it weirder was that Mom had left it basically untouched from the day I left for college, though in cleaner condition. My photos, posters, and study aids were still pinned to the wall, and my bed was still covered in the same pink sheets. I felt like I was dislocated in time, like I had suddenly dropped back into my life in high school… except that I wasn't that person anymore.

I tried to block it out. I turned in bed and hugged my pillow, thinking about Troy. The hug at the end of the night had sent a real thrill through me. I had said goodbye and he had gotten out of his chair to tell me how great it was to see me again. Then we stood grinning like idiots until finally he reached over and put his arms around me. Maybe it was just the high school memories flowing over me, but I hadn't met anyone I felt this attracted to in a long time.

I closed my eyes, almost chasing the edges of sleep down as I thought about Troy. Then suddenly, I heard a soft tap on my window and froze.

My heart sped up. Mom had always been paranoid that the balcony encouraged would-be intruders or rapists to break in. She never wanted me to have this bedroom, but I got it after begging --- I thought the balcony was romantic, not a safety hazard. And I'd never had a problem… until now.

I hid under the covers further, trying to plan out what to do next. Could I get to my phone in time to dial 911? Was there even a phone still in this room? Was my old tennis racket heavy enough to knock someone out? Should I make a break for it?

But suddenly I heard a soft whisper. "Pssst… Gabriella."

I pushed the covers off my head, recognizing the voice. Getting out of bed, I went over to the door and saw Troy standing there on the balcony, smiling at me. I grinned back, clicking the lock open and letting him in.

"Hey," he said, brushing a few leaves out of his hair and grinning. My heart started to beat faster. He looked ridiculously good in faded jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt. "Thanks for letting me in. And for not calling the cops."

"You're lucky, cause I was just about to," I said, sitting on the bed. "What are you doing here?"

He sat down beside me. "Well, I couldn't sleep. And… I remembered this is one of things I used to do during high school when that happened." He laughed sheepishly. "I thought since this was during our high school reunion, I'd try it again, see if it worked."

I blushed, suddenly remembering. But he was looking around the room again. "Wow, things haven't changed in here at all."

"Don't I know it," I said. "I couldn't sleep either, being in a room like this. It's kind of creepy."

"I know exactly what you mean," he said. "My room is like a shrine to the high school Troy. Basketball everywhere. I feel like I'm being suffocated by the past… or as if I'm haunting it from the future."

I hit him on the arm, incredulous. "That's exactly how I feel about it. Exactly."

He laughed, crawling back onto the bed and settling back on my pillows. "And you know, they didn't mention that in the reunion invitation. Otherwise I might have thought twice about coming back."

I smiled, climbing over and sitting near his left side. He let out a breath and looked over at me. "Man, this really brings back memories."

"Hey, you want memories?" I switched my lamp on, grabbed the 2006 yearbook off my nightstand and slapped it onto his chest. "I found this on my bookcase. Check it out."

He flipped through the pages and sat up, moving close to me so we could both see it. "Wow… now that's a blast from the past," he said. He was looking at a photo of me, Taylor, Chad, and Troy after the basketball championships the first year I arrived. "That dress looked great on you, by the way," he said, elbowing me slyly.

I felt warm again and elbowed him back. "Check out that one," I said, as he flipped to a picture of me and Sharpay in our Twinkle Towne costumes. "Sharpay looks really pissed." Considering she had to play a secondary role for the first time ever, I couldn't blame her. But she still had her arm around me in a forced gesture of friendship.

Then I stopped suddenly. I realized he had turned to a photo of us from the end of junior year. It was a close up of us together, his arms around me and both of us smiling. We looked immensely happy. I felt the air in the room suddenly become hard to breathe.

I had to do something. I tried to flip to the next page and cut it off somehow, but the way Troy was holding the book, I couldn't reach for the page on the right. I had to lean toward him slightly, reaching my arm around behind his neck to touch the page with my fingertips. But as I reached, I felt his body sort of shudder at the touch of my arm. And then he closed the book gently, turned his face toward mine, and kissed me on the mouth.

His lips were so soft. I closed my eyes and melted into the kiss. I felt his body twist toward me slightly, and his hand pressed lightly against my back. When we finally broke apart, I felt breathless.

I looked at him and he was smiling.

"Here," he said, and slid us down to lie on our sides. He put his arm around my waist and held me close, just like he used to years ago. I smiled and slipped my hand between his arm and his side, holding tight to his upper back. He grinned at me.

"This is dumb, but I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since I saw you at the airport this morning," he said.

"Me neither," I breathed. "I've been thinking about you all day."

He laughed. "I can't tell if it's you now, or just us both being at this reunion and stepping back into our high school lives. But I feel like I'm 17 again around you. I mean… I really, really liked you then."

"Me too," I said, partly distracted by the feeling of his hand on the small of my back, his thumb stroking up and down slightly. Every touch sent small charges of electricity surging through me. I smiled at him. "And you know, all I can remember is good things. I mean, I'm sure we fought over something… but somehow my memory's deleted all of them."

"Or maybe there just weren't that many bad times," he said. "I mean, besides that one misunderstanding when Chad and Taylor got involved… I can't even think of anything bad that happened between us. I keep remembering us being good together. Having a great time." His smile turned teasing. "Especially here in this room, like this."

I laughed, feeling myself blush again. "Yeah… we sure did a lot in here."

"The bedroom with the balcony, right." He laughed softly. "Ah, Gabi. What happened to us? If it was all so great, how did we fall apart?"

"I don't know," I said truthfully. "Maybe it was just timing. We were so far away from each other, and we were just starting to figure ourselves out. I think we kind of got lost in different worlds." I shrugged. "And at least it wasn't a painful breakup. Just kind of a... slow drift."

"I guess," he said. Then he let out a breath and laughed. "I don't know, but being with you here now makes me think that was a really stupid move."

I laughed and he held me closer, waves of laughter coursing through both of us. Pressed against him, it seemed as though my body fit perfectly into his. Smiling, I pulled back and looked at him.

"Well, let's be careful," I said, trying to be practical. "Like you said, maybe it's all just reunion fever. Us idealizing this relationship. And you know, it's only been one day."

But his hand had found its way under my tank top, moving up and down over my side in slow, teasing strokes. And I was still holding him just as close as before. I looked at him and his eyes were warm, inviting. And then before I knew it I had wrapped my arm around his neck and pulled him in for another kiss.

This time it was more intense. I found myself kissing him deeper and deeper, and felt his tongue moving hungrily into my mouth as we kept going. His hand slid up and down my back, lifting up into my hair, and then suddenly, both arms were around my waist, encircling it tight and pulling me even closer to him.

Suddenly I broke free. "Do you have anything…"

He blushed. "Well, my last checkup said I was fine in that area…"

"Well, great, but that's not what I meant." I smiled. "I meant… like protection."

"Oh," he said. His shoulders slumped. "I guess… not. I didn't think…"

Inadvertently, my head slumped down too. "Damn… well, I guess we can't..."

"Didn't we use to keep some here?" He looked hopeful.

I pushed the back of his head gently. "Troy. Those are probably 10 years old by now."

"Oh." He started to laugh, moving his arms up higher on my back and holding me tight. He grinned at me. "Sorry. I guess I tried. But you never used to be this easy to get into bed."

I turned slightly red and laughed sheepishly. "I'm not usually… I just couldn't help it tonight." I slid my arm under his shirt, feeling the strong muscles of his back ripple beneath my hand. "You being here and all. After all those years. Looking so cute."

He grinned and kissed my cheek. "Ha."

"Tell you what though," I said, running my hand along his side. "Since it is our high school reunion, we should just do something high school right now."

"Completely unprotected sex?"

"No," I said, laughing and pinching him. "Make out."

"Make out." He laughed, starting to kiss my neck. "OK. I can get behind that."

I sighed as his lips trailed down to my collarbone. "Just... don't spread it around at school that I let you get to second base on our first time."

"Tell _you _what," he said, kissing the hollow between my breasts. "I'll tell them we only went to second if we make it to third."

"Oh…" But his hand had already started shifting deliciously downward, following the curve of my backside as his tongue moved smoothly over my skin. I shivered, then sighed again. "OK, Bolton. You win."

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**Author's Note: **

OK, that was the first time I've ever written a scene like that… your reviews on this one will be definitely appreciated!


	5. The Picnic

**Disclaimer: **It's probably obvious, but I don't own any of the HSM characters or their related elements.

Just gonna say it again. THIS FIC IS RATED **M**. THERE WILL BE **SOME ADULT CONTENT **IN THIS STORY.

A rating of M means this story is **not suitable for children or teens below the age of 16 with possible strong but non-explicit adult themes, references to violence, and strong coarse language.**

Mostly this is because there are sexy bits in this story, and that can make people sad. If you are one of those people, please stop reading this story now. It is not for you.

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**Chapter 5 – The Picnic**

"Gabi. Are you awake?"

Groggily, I awoke to my mom anxiously tapping my arm. Troy had left late last night, leaving me with just a few hours of sleep… and some excellent reunion memories.

"Yeah, Mom," I said, my voice hoarse. "What's going on?"

She handed me the cordless phone. "You have a call from New York. It sounds important."

"Hello?" I said. Mom waved and disappeared out the door, closing it quietly behind her.

"Hi, Gabriella." The woman's voice was clipped and businesslike. She and Taylor would probably get along. "So glad I caught you at your alternate number. This is Karen from FeedTV. We talked last week."

FeedTV? I snapped to attention. I had interviewed in New York with them, to be an assistant producer at a new show on science and technology--- done in an 'edgy' way, of course. I was really hoping I'd get it. It seemed like a more constructive step on the path to figuring out what to do with my life.

"Hi Karen," I said, trying to sound bright. "Thanks for calling me. How can I help?"

She was brusque. "Well, we've made a decision, and we'd really like to bring you on board here. How does that sound?"

I nearly jumped out of the bed. "That sounds fantastic. I'd love to join you. When do I start?"

"As soon as possible," she said. "Can we make it within the next week?"

"I'll have to let you know," I said, hoping I didn't sound too giddy. "I'm still at the magazine, so I'll have to talk to my editor and call you back as soon as possible with a date. Is that OK?"

"That's fine," she said. I grabbed a pen and scribbled down her contact details. "Talk to you soon," she said.

Then I hung up, called my boss at home, and quit my job in one glorious swoop.

---------------------------------------------

I told Taylor at the reunion picnic in the afternoon, and she shouted, nearly knocking me off the picnic table where we sat. She hugged me. "Oh my God! That's fantastic!"

"I know," I said, hugging her back. "It felt so good to quit. You wouldn't believe it."

"When do you start?" she asked, turning back to her plate of chicken and taking a bite. "Are you getting paid much more?"

"Actually, I start the Tuesday after I get back," I said, grinning and going back to my plate. "We were just starting production of the next month of _nucleus_ so Dan said I could leave right away. And I think I get about $100 more a week at the new job."

"That's not bad," said Taylor. "At least you can eat a couple of times a week now."

"Maybe all week if I save up just right," I said, laughing.

She smiled. "A bit weird they called you on a Saturday though. But I guess TV people work around the clock."

"Yeah, I guess so." I said. But I suddenly felt distracted. I could see Troy start playing pickup basketball on with some of the old Wildcat team on the cement court by the picnic area. A much greyer Coach Bolton sat nearby on a grassy area, looking like he was thoroughly enjoying the show. I still didn't think he liked me very much.

Suddenly Troy looked over at me and waved, missing a pass from Chad in the process. Coach Bolton looked over and it seemed as though he shot me a steely glance before turning away again. I smiled at Troy and waved back, and he grinned and loped after the missed basketball easily. His body still moved gracefully on the court, as muscular and athletic as I remembered in high school. It still got me kind of excited just watching him.

I felt a nudge at my side. Taylor was looking at me. "You've really got to make that less obvious." Her voice was teasing. "Man, I knew it was going to happen, but you must have really moved fast. It's only been one day."

"Taylor," I said, feeling my cheeks flush. "Just quit it, would you?"

Taylor laughed. "Someone's awfully defensive. But I notice you're not denying it." She nudged me again. "Come on, Gabi. You deserve to have a good time. So are you?"

I shrugged and smiled, looking upward innocently. "Well, maybe," I said. "Troy might have come over to my room last night." I took a demure bite of my chicken leg. "And… I might have let him get to second base."

"Whew." Taylor pretended to fan herself. "Pretty hot."

I laughed. "Well… such is my love life."

"Speaking of love lives," said Taylor. "I talked to Chad's wife before you got here, and I'm sure it's a fraud. She said that Chad is a hopeless romantic who took her to a rose garden on their first date."

I raised my eyebrows. "So that's your proof?"

"Gabi, that guy wouldn't know romance from a hole in the ground," she said. "Trust me. Some things never change."

---------------------------------------------

As the sun went down, I wandered over to the children's play area. Sharpay sat on a bench, watching two small boys playing on the jungle gym. She looked over at me. "Oh Gabriella. So nice to see you. Those are my children, Dylan and Matthew." She fluttered her eyelashes as the boys began to kick at each other as they dangled from the bars. "They can be such a handful sometimes."

"They're gorgeous, Sharpay," I said, sitting down next to her. "How old are they?"

"Dylan is four and Matthew is two," she said, folding her arms and smiling. Her nails were frosted pink and freshly done. "And you know, I've only just lost the baby weight." She laughed. "Just in time for the reunion, luckily."

I nodded, laughing. Then suddenly a shadow fell over both of us. Looking up, I saw it was Zeke, grinning. He stood in front of us, holding a box.

"Hey girls," he said. "Want some cupcakes?"

"Zeke!" I stood up to hug him. He smiled warmly at both of us and sat down next to Sharpay. "Hey Gabi, Sharpay, it's good to see you," he said. He nudged the box at us again. "And the cupcake offer is still good. Made them myself this morning."

But Sharpay looked dumbfounded, staring at Zeke. I leaned over and took the box instead, opening it to reveal four elaborately designed little cakes. "Awww, Zeke. These look amazing."

"They'd better," he said. "I do this for a living now. I got through two years of law school before I realized what I wanted to do was bake. I used the last of my loans to rent a space in the Bay Area a couple of years ago and now we're just starting to break even."

"Oh, that's great," I said, picking a cupcake. "You were always so good at this." I took a bite of the cake and groaned slightly. "And oh my God, you've somehow gotten even better."

He laughed. "Well, I never got reactions like that in the courtroom. So it was a pretty obvious career choice."

Suddenly I heard a voice in my ear. "Hey."

I turned my head and grinned. Troy had crept up to sit next to me on the bench. He smiled and squeezed my side. Zeke looked over and stood up again, leaning over to shake his hand. "Troy, man. It's good to see you."

"You too, Zeke. Hey, I didn't see you out for the pickup game. No more basketball?"

Zeke smiled. "Nope. I blew out my knee in first year college ball," he said. "Had to have surgery. It hasn't been the same since."

Sharpay suddenly spoke as if thinking out loud. "So that's why I didn't see you on the court earlier today." She turned toward Zeke, a brilliant smile spreading on her face as she focused her full attention on him. "Will you be coming to the formal reunion dinner tomorrow?"

As they fell into chatting, Troy elbowed me. "Third wheel," he said, grinning.

"Fourth," I said, elbowing him back. I turned to him and realized he was still in his basketball clothes. "Man, you smell like a sweat sock."

"Aww, don't sugar coat it," he said. "Yeah. Just came to say I'm on my way out. The old team wants to head out to some sports bar, watch a basketball game. My dad's pretty pumped." He rolled his eyes, laughing. "Anyway. I didn't see you much today. Just wanted to know… are we still on for tonight?"

I smiled, feeling my cheeks redden slightly. "Of course."

He grinned. "Excellent."

He started to stand up, and I remembered my news. I grabbed his shoulder. "Hey. I forgot to tell you. I got a new job this morning. It's in TV, for a new science show." I grinned. "So things are finally looking up."

"That's amazing." He kissed me on the cheek. "Something to celebrate tonight."

---------------------------------------------

And then suddenly it was night, and Troy was at my balcony door again, grinning like a teenager. I let him in and he put his arm around my waist, kissing me as we stood there on the carpet together. I leaned into it, my tongue gently touching his. My hand reached up into his hair and it felt slightly damp, as if he had just showered.

Finally we broke apart and he grinned. "I've been waiting to do that all day," he said, kissing me on the forehead.

He climbed onto the bed and l followed, pushing him onto his back and straddling his hips to kiss him again. His hands felt slightly rough as they wandered over my back, moving down to my backside and giving me a gentle squeeze. I pressed my chest close to his, my arms sliding under his body to grip his shoulders from behind. Sitting there with my knees gripping his sides tightly, I could feel he was already hard.

I broke away and stared at him, panting slightly. His eyes looked bright. "This reunion is freaking amazing," he breathed, and I laughed.

"Did you get any…"

He nodded, smiling. "Yeah." His hands stroked the top of my thighs, sending jerking thrills down my spine. "Talk about high school though. I still felt really dumb buying them at the store. At least they didn't do a price check while I was there."

Leaning forward, I planted kisses on his forehead. "Well… I think it's worth the trouble."

"Well, it better be," he said, kissing along my neck. "It cost me a whole $12.50 for a box of 12, so you better make it feel like a dollar a pop."

I laughed and hugged his head as he shifted me up, burying his face in my breasts. "Bolton," I said as his mouth reached my left nipple, his hand playing with the other. "I can promise you at least two-fifty a pop. At the very, very least."

"Perfect." He lifted my tank top over his head and kissed my stomach, sending a sudden shock wave of pleasure through me. "I always knew you were a high-class girl."

And then I felt him lift my body higher, shifting my shorts and panties aside and putting his head between my legs. I shuddered in delight as his tongue moved within me, then lifted my knees so he could peel my clothing off.

There was no more talking for a while after that.


	6. The Breakfast

**Disclaimer: **It's probably obvious, but I don't own any of the HSM characters or their related elements.

So, one more time. THIS FIC IS RATED **M**. THERE WILL BE **SOME ADULT CONTENT **IN THIS STORY.

A rating of M means this story is **not suitable for children or teens below the age of 16 with possible strong but non-explicit adult themes, references to violence, and strong coarse language.**

Mostly this is because there are sexy bits and other adult themes in this story, and that can make people sad. If you are one of those people, please stop reading this story now.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Chapter 6 – The Breakfast**

"Gabi? Are you awake?"

I awoke to the sound of Mom knocking at my door lightly. My body felt exhausted. Lying on my side, I still felt as though Troy had his hand on my waist, curving warmly around my body from behind. "Mom?" I said sleepily. "What's the matter?"

"Gary's made pancakes," she said from behind the door. "Come down, have some."

I snuggled in closer to my pillow. "OK. Just give me five more minutes."

There was a short pause. "If… Troy wants to join us too, that's fine as well."

I jerked awake. "What?" I spun around and felt a hand slide off my waist to the bed. My stomach lurched. There was Troy sleeping peacefully just inches from me.

"That's Coach Bolton's car outside, isn't it?" Mom sounded a little uncomfortable.

I felt like dying. "Uh…"

"Well," she said kindly. "You can both come down whenever you're ready." I heard her footsteps head back down the stairs.

I grabbed Troy's arm and shook him. "What?" he murmured, his eyes still closed.

"Troy," I hissed. "Wake up. You're still in my room. And my mom just saw your car outside."

"What?" He snapped awake and looked at me in horror. "Does she know I'm…"

I felt frantic. "She just asked if you want to come down for pancakes."

He looked at me for a moment, and then laughed. He pulled me close and kissed the top of my head. "Oh God. This high school thing never stops. Freaking out at being caught by our parents. Brilliant."

My mood eased a bit, but I still squeezed his side with my hand. "Not _our_ parents. _My_ parent. And now she thinks I'm having sex with some guy under her roof on my second night home."

"Well, you kind of did." He laughed again.

I hit him gently on the back. "Yeah, but I prefer that my mom didn't know about it."

"Ahhh," he said, closing his eyes and hugging me again. "Lighten up. Your mom's always been cool." Suddenly he opened an eye to look at me. "I do like pancakes though."

"You're not serious."

"Well… she already knows, so what else can we do? We're not 18 anymore. And she did invite me down." He laughed. "OK, we should. And you know what? You should spend the day with me before we go to the formal dinner tonight."

"The formal dinner?" I asked. "What did we go to the first night here?"

He laughed. "The pre-reunion mixer."

"Ahhh. Who makes up these things? I already wore my best dress to that one."

"Wear it again," he said. "No one will notice."

"Get out of my bed with your lies," I said, laughing. "And get changed. We've got pancakes to eat."

----------------------------------------------

I'd forgotten how well Troy got along with Mom and Gary. I felt a weird sense of pride as they talked easily around the table, discussing where he was now and the details of his job.

"What we've created is basically a photo sharing tool, like a collection of photo albums that have all been cross referenced," he explained to Gary. "You can easily search for photos on any subject. And you can create communities around certain types of photos, or cameras, or any other subjects."

Gary looked really interested. He'd always been into old-school film photography. "So you just make it easy to share your photos with your friends and family?"

"Exactly," said Troy, taking a bite of pancake. "And people say the site can challenge you to do better photography too."

"Is it hard to set up?"

"No." Troy looked earnest. "Do you have a computer? I can help you make an account right now if you want."

Gary seemed really pleased. "Well… if you wouldn't mind. It's in the study."

As they left the room, Mom looked at me. "Gabi…"

I sighed. "I know, Mom. I'm sorry Troy spent the night. It's just this reunion… we just kind of got carried away."

Mom put her chin in her hand and pushed her fork absently on her plate. "Well," she said softly. "You're old enough now to make your own decisions. And… you know I always liked Troy."

"You did?"

"Of course," she said. "He's a nice boy. And he always seemed to make you so happy." She looked up at me. "You seem a lot more happy right now, actually."

"I guess," I said, feeling myself smile at the memory of Troy's arms around me last night.

"But Gabi…" Mom sounded hesitant. "You're both going home tomorrow, right?"

The smile died down on my face. "Right..."

And I felt as though I had been snapped back into reality. Somehow I had become lost in the idea that Troy was going to keep climbing in my balcony window forever. But I was going back to New York on Monday morning. And Troy… he was going back to San Francisco.

I told her what I knew. "Well… we haven't talked about it yet."

----------------------------------------

Gary and Troy were sitting hunched over the computer when I wandered into the study. I put my hands on Troy's shoulders and he looked up. "Hey, Gabi."

"Hey," I said. "How are things going with you two?"

"Really good," said Gary, patting Troy on the arm. "I had no idea such amazing things were available online nowadays." Suddenly he looked at both of us excitedly. "Hey. I should find those photos from your cousin Kathryn's wedding last year, so I can share them with your aunt." He put a finger in the air. "Don't go anywhere. I'll be right back."

He left the room and Troy leaned back in his chair to look up at me, hanging his head back. "You want to see what I do for a living?"

"Sure."

He got up out of the chair and sat me down in front of the computer. Sitting in Gary's chair on my right, he put his arm around me and started moving the mouse around.

"OK… this is the website." He clicked on the screen and suddenly it moved, sending out an array of photographs displayed in a grid. "Look… you can see all your photos, organize them in albums, easily send them to other people. There's spaces for comments on there, and you can mark photos as favorites. And your profile remembers all of it."

Nestled into the circle of his arm, I realized how warm and happy I felt. I looked over at him and my questions about tomorrow trembled on the tip of my tongue. But I couldn't ruin it. He seemed so genuinely happy as he clicked through the pages. He kept talking, trying to explain everything to me. "The real power of the site has to do with tagging each photo with keywords, so people can run searches for those words and find your photos. But that's a bit complex for right now."

He tapped a button and an entry form came up. "OK, so let's make you an account." He clicked a few more links, tapped the keys and suddenly a page came up with my name on it. "So voila. There you are. Your password's your name in lowercase. Now you can put your photos up and share them with people."

I smiled at him. "I don't have a camera."

He rolled his eyes at me, grinning. "You must be the last person on earth. OK, Gary's got his digital here." He picked it up off the desk and pulled me to him close, pointing the lens at us. "Smile."

The flash of light blinded us both. "Great," said Troy. "So when my vision returns, we'll put this photo in your account and tag it with our names. When you want to see it, log back into your account or just search the site."

I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. A cool wave of sadness washed over me at the thought that this would all be over so soon. "Thanks."

He looked over and grinned at me. "Any time."


	7. The Goodbye

**Disclaimer: **It's probably obvious, but I don't own any of the HSM characters or their related elements.

THIS FIC IS RATED **M**. THERE WILL BE **SOME ADULT CONTENT **IN THIS STORY.

A rating of M means this story is **not suitable for children or teens below the age of 16 with possible strong but non-explicit adult themes, references to violence, and strong coarse language.**

This is chiefly because there are sexy bits and other adult themes in this story, and that can make people sad. If you are one of those people, please stop reading this story now.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Chapter 7 – The Goodbye**

We drove around town in the afternoon to see how the city had changed. Troy came back to pick me up after going home to shower.

"My mom freaked out a bit when she woke up and saw I wasn't home," he said, steering us toward downtown. "But they thought I was just out at Chad's anyway." He laughed. "I guess now I know what you meant this morning. You're lucky your mom's so relaxed about everything. I think my parents like to pretend I'm waiting till marriage to do it."

I smiled. "You aren't?"

He grinned. "Ahh, you tossed that dream out the window years ago." He pointed. "OK, check it out on your right. There's the new mall my dad was talking about."

"Ahhh… there it is."

I looked at Troy and smiled. The daylight shone through the window in golden streaks, making the car seem as if it was glowing. And sitting there, I felt safe and warm and good, traveling through the city with him by my side.

And I knew this was how I wanted to remember this weekend. Not sad because we were leaving, but happy that we were with each other. Because I had thought about it, and I knew it was impossible to have anything more.

I looked over at him and he smiled, reaching out to touch my leg. "You're awfully quiet," he said. "Thinking about something special?"

I smiled. "Oh… just some guy I met a couple days ago."

"The same guy that finished your pancakes this morning?"

I laughed. "Probably."

-----------------------------------------

And then we went to the formal dinner. It was in a hotel ballroom this time. Troy and I were at the same table again, but Taylor had switched cards and sat with us this time, putting Kelsi next to Chad instead. She felt no compunction about doing this. "Hey, at least I'm with people I actually want to talk to," she said.

So we laughed and ate and grumbled about the expensive cash bar and the bad 2007 music the DJ insisted on playing. Ms. Darbus got back behind the podium and handed out joke awards. A huge wave of laughter went up when Chad won an award for being the alumnus still living closest to the high school.

"And yet you were always late to homeroom, Mr. Danforth," said Ms. Darbus, handing him the trophy. He laughed and waved his prize triumphantly before walking off.

And Troy and I roared when Taylor won an award for looking the most like she did in high school.

She sat back down in her seat, flushing scarlet. "That's a terrible award to win." She gulped her overpriced red wine and looked at us accusingly. "It's not like I can help it, either. It's this hair. You can't do anything else with it!"

I laughed. "Don't get too mad. At least you won something."

And then suddenly, the dishes were cleared away and the dance floor started. I wobbled on my high heels next to Troy, Taylor, Zeke and Sharpay. Near us, Kelsi had started doing some mad jerking dance with Jason, both of them laughing. It was odd, but something about the whole thing felt wonderful and funny and perfect. I looked at Troy and knew he felt as good as I did.

A slow song came on and I caught Troy's eye. He wrapped his arms around me, cuddling me close as the music played. Nearby, I could see Zeke and Sharpay carefully holding each other, Zeke's arms looping gently around Sharpay's waist.

I put my head on Troy's shoulder. "Hey," I said.

"Hey," he said back. "You looked good dancing out there."

"I practiced," I said. "Two hours a day for the last two weeks."

"Nice," he said. He stroked my back a little, then suddenly he laughed. "Hey," he said. "I've got one for you, now that this reunion is almost over. Did you know that woman wasn't Chad's wife after all? Just some girl he met at a bar last week?"

I laughed. Taylor was going to die when she heard this. "I think I had an inkling."

"You always do." He kissed my forehead. "And Gabi… it is our last night here…"

But I cut him off. "Don't say anything yet, Troy." I held him tighter. "Just be here with me right now."

-----------------------------------------

And before long we were back in my room again, on top of my bed pressing feverishly against each other. Our kisses were hard and urgent, as if we were trying to lose ourselves in each other in the dying moments of our perfect weekend.

He lifted my dress over my head, and his tongue moved from my neck to my breasts, his fingers slipping inside my panties and making me cry out. I unzipped his pants and pulled off his shirt, sliding my hands over his back to feel his muscles working as he moved over my body. He kissed down to my stomach and over my sides, his fingers moving inside me, and I had to bite my lip to keep from screaming. His mouth on my skin sent me into spasms of ecstatic agony.

He withdrew suddenly, and I heard him tear open the condom and roll it on. Then he was pressed on top of me and I guided him in, crying out again softly as he thrust in slow and deep, over and over. I clutched his shoulders tightly as I came, my knees shaking as waves of pleasure reverberated through me, and I felt him collapse against my body in a warm clump, kissing my neck. And then for a few moments, we were still, fiercely holding each other close, wrapped in each other's warmth.

Then I smiled, kissing him on the forehead, and moved my hips to withdraw him from me. He took off the condom and then lay down beside me on the pillows, spreading the comforter over us as I snuggled into his side. I could hear him breathing hard beside me, and then he spoke.

"Gabi…"

I pressed closer to him. "Don't, Troy…"

"No... I have to." He sighed. "I leave tomorrow morning. So what..."

"Nothing," I said, my eyes squeezed shut. "We're not going to do anything about it."

"What?" He sounded shocked. "Gabi… this has been incredible. And you just…"

"We can't, Troy." Suddenly I felt almost like crying, knowing he was there but already missing him so much. "There's just no way. I've been thinking about it all day. You know I don't have the money to fly back and forth … and I'm starting this new job on Tuesday that might take up all my time. That might change who I am. It won't be fair to you at all."

I wiped away a tear with my hand and tried to will the rest of them away. "And this… all of this… it's been too good. I don't know why. Maybe it's just the high school memories after all. But I don't want to ruin it with a long-distance relationship. I don't want it to be killed by how it will end—and you know it will end. You know we aren't good at them. Especially when we were trying to find ourselves, like I am now. I just want to remember how good this all was, not how we drifted apart."

"Gabi…"

"Don't, Troy." I was already crying hopelessly. "Just don't."

I turned away and felt him spoon against me from behind. His hand stroked my hair and he kissed the back of my head.

"Shhh… it's OK, it's OK." He seemed to swallow. "OK. So you don't want to try…"

"We can't try," I said, my chest hitching for air. "If we do, I know we'll lose. If we don't, we at least get to keep this weekend here for ourselves." I hung my head. "Please don't make this any harder than it has to be."

"I'm not…"

"Just… be here with me right now, Troy," I said. "I think that's all we're going to get."

And I felt his hand come around my waist, holding me tight. He kissed my shoulder and nestled into my back. I closed my eyes to remember his body pressed against mine, but before I knew it I was asleep. And when I woke up, I turned around to find him, and he was gone.


	8. The Job

**Disclaimer: **It's probably obvious, but I don't own any of the HSM characters or their related elements.

THIS FIC IS RATED **M**. THERE WILL BE **SOME ADULT CONTENT **IN THIS STORY.

A rating of M means this story is **not suitable for children or teens below the age of 16 with possible strong but non-explicit adult themes, references to violence, and strong coarse language.**

This is all because there are sexy bits and other adult themes in this story, and that can make some people sad. If you are one of those people, please stop reading this story now.

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**Chapter 8 – The Job**

"Guys, it's called Connection, spelled CNXN. And get ready, because it's going to be the biggest sci-tech show this country has ever seen."

At the end of the conference table, the show's executive producer Chris Bream beamed proudly. A kindly older man, he had swept me into my very first FeedTV meeting almost as soon as I arrived at the office. I grinned, happy to see he was excited as I was about CNXN. But a sigh came from the slim blonde woman sitting across from me.

We hadn't been introduced yet. Discreetly, I looked down at my meeting agenda and saw her name was Amanda Laporte. The realization hit me—she was the show's host and producer. My immediate boss.

"Oh, Chris," she said, her eyelids fluttering at him. "You can really get carried away. Let's get through our first month of taping and then we can start talking about where this is really going to go."

She laughed blithely, but I felt my stomach tremble. This show had better stay on the air. I didn't have another job in sight and being in Albuquerque had run up a bigger credit card bill than I had expected.

Albuquerque. Troy. _Snap out of it, Gabriella_. I shook my head and turned my attention back to the meeting.

Chris was smiling again. "I don't think you two have met. Amanda, this is Gabriella. She's our new assistant producer and will be working with you to launch CNXN at the end of the month."

I smiled and leaned over to shake her hand. Amanda's hand hung limply in my grasp.

"Glad to have you on board, Gabriella," she said. "I hope you're ready for the challenge of launching a new show." She let out a short laugh. "And I'm sure we'll get to know each other over the next little while. It'll be just the two of us on the CNXN project until we start."

"I'm looking forward to it," I said. But Chris was already talking over me.

"CNXN is going to be fresh. It's going to be innovative. It's going to take science and technology to the twenty-somethings of America, and show them what's on the cutting edge in a hip and edgy way." He laughed. "It's also going to be sold into syndication in Canada and the UK, if we play our cards right. And with Gabriella arriving, we finally have the whole team here. So let's get our noses to the grindstone. Let's put down some story ideas for the first five shows."

He looked around at us expectantly. I felt ready to burst from excitement. On the plane ride home yesterday, I had collected all of the science stories I could think of, ready to make my mark on CNXN. I'd had so many ideas that had never been picked up by _nucleus_. And making a long list had kept me from thinking of … other things.

I spoke up. "What about a profile of Markus Schnieder over at Columbia? He's been instrumental in their research into superconductors. And he's only about 25."

"Good, good," said Chris, nodding at me.

I felt energized. "How about a look at the superstructure on the new library wing downtown? McCrosky/Lefson Architects designed it using a really innovative computer process. Their animated flythroughs could make good visuals for that one." I flipped through my notes. "And maybe we could even do something on the supercomputer NYU built by connecting 400 of the new Apple G8s."

Chris was still grinning at me. "These sound fantastic, Gabriella. I'm really glad you're here. Great work."

Amanda smiled, but for a split second I could swear that she rolled her eyes slightly. "Well, those sound _super_, Gabriella." She looked over at Chris and laughed. "And I've got a couple of ideas to throw in as well."

She tapped her pen on her clipboard. "How about this: a recurring segment on what kind of tech gadgets celebrities are into. And this: a look at the new Beam Me Up sci-fi comedy being produced this season. We could talk about the future technology they've invented, that kind of thing." She pushed her hair out of her face. "Oh, and that rapper Little C has a new video that takes place on a space station. I think it would be really good to talk to him about that whole creative process. And of course, his thoughts about space in general."

I looked over at her. Little C's thoughts on space were going to make a killer sci-tech show? I hoped she was being ironic. All of her ideas sounded a lot more flippant than what I had been told CNXN was all about. And I didn't really want to work on an entertainment show… I wanted to look at the innovations in real science.

But Chris was already nodding. And Amanda was nodding back seriously. "Amanda. That sounds fantastic. You really have a handle on these things. I think it's really going to work nicely."

She… did?

Well… they knew more about TV than I did. They were already talking about the details of getting in touch with Little C and the Beam Me Up crew. And Amanda was motioning to me to take notes. I scribbled down their phrases halfheartedly, and suddenly realized everyone was getting up to leave. The meeting was over.

I chased after them and caught up with Amanda, grabbing her elbow. She waved goodbye to Chris and then turned to me, beaming widely and walking briskly toward her office.

"Listen. Get in touch with Little C's people this afternoon. The sooner we book him, the better. Hopefully we can tape by the end of the week and give the editor lots of time to play with the look and feel of it. That's going to be important for this first show."

I felt caught up in how capable she sounded. "OK," I said, wanting to sound competent.

"And the Beam Me Up cast," she said. "They might be tough to get – their studio publicist can be really difficult with reporters. But see if you can sweet talk them into making this happen by the end of the week too. Oh… and get on that celebrity gadget thing. Let's have some names and numbers by Thursday, so we can tape the segments next week."

"Sure," I said. I felt suddenly nervous. I'd never had to fight with publicists before. I paused, and suddenly I could see Amanda stop to look at me. Then unexpectedly, she put her arm around my shoulder and smiled.

She walked me back toward my desk, her voice suddenly soothing. "Gabriella. I know you've never worked in TV before. Going heavy on the entertainment is a good thing for a launch. I promise, we'll get to the meatier stuff later. We just need to make the first few shows pop, and then we'll be home free."

She nodded, smiling encouragingly as we hit my desk. "And I hate to say it… but you're going to be load man on the totem pole for a little while. There's a lot of groundwork to be laid for a new show. But FeedTV is putting all their promotional weight behind this one. You got in at the right time. I really think it's going to be huge."

She made an arcing gesture in the air with her hand, then squeezed my arm, laughing.

"OK," I said, sitting down at my computer and feeling slightly better. But remembering my story ideas, I turned to her. "Amanda, so what about Markus Schnieder? Should I still…?"

But I saw she had already gone, sliding into a glassed in office along the wall and sitting down at her desk. I saw her pick up the phone and start to chat with someone. She looked confident and beautiful, perfectly at home where she was. I felt a twinge. Maybe she did know what she was doing with all this entertainment stuff. Maybe here, I could finally find where I belonged, too.

I turned on my computer, got my notes out, and started to make the calls.

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**Author's Note**: Question for all y'all. How did you readers come across this story in the first place? Just curious because I keep getting hits, but I know this story isn't really shown on the HSM story directory due to the M rating. Reply in a review if you like.


	9. The Conference

**Disclaimer: **It's probably obvious, but I don't own any of the HSM characters or their related elements.

THIS FIC IS RATED **M**. THERE WILL BE **SOME ADULT CONTENT **IN THIS STORY.

A rating of M means this story is **not suitable for children or teens below the age of 16 with possible strong but non-explicit adult themes, references to violence, and strong coarse language.**

This is all because there are sexy bits and other adult themes in this story, and that can make some people sad. If you are one of those people, please stop reading this story now.

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**Chapter 9 – The Conference**

During the second week, I started working weekends. Taylor called me at the office to complain.

"Gabi," she said. "This is ridiculous. Even in investment banking, we take the weekend off."

"Well, the markets close on the weekends," I said. "But I've got sixteen segments to produce and get edited before we launch in two weeks. And I've got to pin down ten more stories or else we've got three half-hour shows of nothing."

I felt like I was trying to convince myself in the process. Admittedly, the show felt like nothing but a huge weight on my shoulders right now. I was thinking about it even when I wasn't working. And I hated swallowing my pride and kowtowing to celebrity publicists over the phone on a regular basis. But once the show was launched… I knew things were going to get better. Amanda had said so. I told Taylor this, and she sighed.

"Are they at least paying you overtime?"

"Not that I know of," I said guiltily.

"Gabriella!" She shouted into the phone. "You can torture yourself over work, but you should be getting paid for it. Don't let them take advantage of you like this. You know you need the money."

"Yeah." I still felt guilty about asking for it though. Somehow my work habits from high school were still ingrained into me – just give your all to the job to get it done the best you could, no matter what. Get that gold star. And never, ever ask for special treatment.

"Well." Taylor let out a breath. "If you do get done early, call my phone. We could have a drink before you have to go all the way back to Brooklyn."

I tapped at my keyboard, already running a search for what kind of cell phones teen celebrities were using today. Another one of Amanda's bright ideas. "Well… I'll see."

"OK." She sighed again. "Talk to you later."

--------------------------------------

But Taylor had gotten to me. I decided to stop working early so I could call her and meet up. I turned to my e-mail program to check it one last time before I left, and realized there was a letter from Gary in my inbox. I opened it eagerly.

_Subject: New Photos!_

_Hi Gabi, hope this finds you well. I just put up some new pictures on that website I set up last time. It's your mom and me at a dinner with some of her co-workers. Now you can see how truly old and haggard we look ever since you left us!_

I laughed and clicked the link. Gary and Mom looked like they were having a great time in the photos, clowning around with a group of people at a circular dinner table. I realized how much I missed them and resolved to call more often.

But his photos had caught my interest. I clicked around his account and saw the photos from Kathryn's wedding that he promised to post. Gary really was a talented photographer. Kathryn looked beautiful.

Then suddenly, I remembered the other photo we had posted that day. And something inside me started to twist as I tapped my name into the search box.

There it was in front of me, the only result. Troy with his arm around me in the desk chair, both of us smiling together. We looked so happy.

I couldn't take it. I reached my hand out and quickly turned the computer off.

--------------------------------------

Then on Wednesday after lunch, Amanda dumped a thick brochure on my desk.

"Chris had a great idea," she said. "We're going to launch the show at Web7."

"Web7?" I said, flipping through the brochure's pages. A shiny green and blue Web7 logo was emblazoned on the top right corner of every one.

"It's a big tech conference and trade show," she said, waving a hand. "All the web heavyweights go. It's all about design, tech, the future of the net. It happens on the weekend we want to launch, so I'll do live hits from the floor of the trade show and we can cut to the pre-taped segments in between."

"OK," I said, although I felt kind of like crying. I was beginning to feel like I was breaking under all the left-field challenges Amanda kept throwing at me every day. "So do I have to book guests, plan shooting, what?"

"Yep. Read the brochure, check out who's going, figure out what we should do," she said absently. "Anyway, it'll only be two days for us. We'll arrive Friday, leave the Sunday morning. Me, you, and John the cameraman. The intern's already booking the trip details. And Chris only gave me $2000 to do the whole thing." She shook her head. "That's for airfare, accommodations, car rental, per diem—everything. I don't know how he expects us to create the biggest sci-tech show in America without any money."

"Yeah," I said, feeling my shoulders collapse heavily as Amanda went back to her office. There went another weekend—and my afternoon. I had secretly been hoping to get in touch with Markus Schnieder today and do a pre-interview for after the celebrity stuff was done.

And then suddenly, someone tapped softly at my arm. "Ms. Montez?"

I turned around. Rebecca the intern stood there, nervously looking at me. "Hi Rebecca. Can I help?"

"Kind of." She sat down at the chair next to my desk, her wavery voice sounding even more childlike as she continued. "I have some sort of bad news. I got the tickets and the car and the press passes and everything. But Web7… I think they must have thousands of delegates showing up."

"What does that mean?"

Her fingers twisted in her lap. "I only got a small single room at the Canal Hotel five blocks away, and it was really expensive. So... I think you guys are all going to have to cram in together."

Oh man. Amanda seemed like a horrible roommate at best. And John… much as I liked the guy, he seemed to smell strongly of garlic sausage all the time. I didn't know if I could take that for two days straight.

Rebecca looked at me apologetically. "I'm really sorry… maybe, if you know someone in San Francisco, you could stay with them instead?"

_San Francisco?_

My heart skipped a beat, and looking down at the brochure, I realized the name of Troy's company was on the sponsor list.

And then I spoke without thinking. "Yeah, Rebecca… I think I know someone there."

--------------------------------------

But I wished I had bitten my tongue. Rebecca told Amanda immediately, and she was incredibly happy to be sharing with one rather than two of us. Which meant I couldn't get out of it. And I couldn't bring myself to call Troy and ask if I could stay.

I knew it was the mature, adult thing to do. And it was just for two nights, I thought—I knew he wouldn't say no. But I kept thinking about how he had left… and what I had said to him. And every day, I picked up the phone to start dialing the number of his company and couldn't make it through.

By the Thursday before the conference, however, I had no choice.

Heart pounding, I dialed his company number. A receptionist answered and patched me through.

And then….

"Hello?"

It was his voice. I felt suddenly like I wanted to cry.

"Hi," I said, and I heard him catch his breath.

"Gabi," he blurted out in shock. "How… are you?"

"I'm great," I said, trying not to lose it. "Listen, Troy… I've just got a favour to ask."

"Sure," he said immediately. "Is everything OK?"

I felt a twinge at the concern in his voice. I closed my eyes. "I'm fine. I'm just... I'm going to be in town over the weekend. On business. Friday to Sunday morning. And I… kind of need a place to stay."

"Oh."

He stretched the word out, and there was suddenly a pause.

Tentatively, I spoke. "Troy?"

And then unexpectedly, I heard his laughter coming softly through the phone.

"Ah, Montez," he said. "Yeah, come and stay. Of course."


	10. The Arrival

**Disclaimer: **It's probably obvious, but I don't own any of the HSM characters or their related elements.

THIS FIC IS RATED **M**. THERE WILL BE **SOME ADULT CONTENT **IN THIS STORY.

A rating of M means this story is **not suitable for children or teens below the age of 16 with possible strong but non-explicit adult themes, references to violence, and strong coarse language.**

This is because there are sexy bits in this story, and that can make some people sad. If you are one of those people, please stop reading this story now.

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**Chapter 10** – **The Arrival**

Standing at a window near the car rental place, I could see rain falling in San Francisco's evening sky. Amanda and John were behind me getting the car arranged and I wanted them to both hurry up and slow down. I felt tired from the flight, but they were supposed to drop me off at Troy's after we found dinner somewhere. And… I wasn't sure I was ready to see him. At least, not just yet.

Suddenly I felt a tap on my shoulder. "About time," I said, letting out a yawn and grabbing my bag off the floor. "Where's the…"

But I choked as I saw Troy standing in front of me, a hesitant grin on his face. He wore a light grey jacket and jeans and looked just as good as ever.

I couldn't breathe. Somehow, I smiled. I felt awkward, like I wanted to touch him and didn't know how. The way he stood, it seemed like he felt the same way.

"Hey," he said, his hands jammed into his coat pockets.

"I didn't think you were going to pick me up," I blurted out lamely. "I thought…"

"Well…" He shrugged. "It turned out I had the time, and you gave me your flight number." He seemed to struggle with the rest of the words. "I also… haven't had dinner yet. I thought… you might want to come along."

"Well…" I looked over to Amanda and John, who were suddenly approaching. "We were all actually going to go out for dinner…"

But Amanda was shaking her head, yawning as she joined us. "No, don't worry about us. I think I just want to head to bed, and John's going to find something to eat in the area. Just keep your receipts and you can claim it back at the end of the trip. I'll see you tomorrow at the conference at 7."

Both she and John shook Troy's hand. "Nice to meet you, by the way," said Amanda, looking over at me and winking before they left. And then suddenly, we were alone there in the rental lounge together.

I twisted my hands around the strap of my bag, not looking at him. "So…"

"So…" he said, trailing off.

Then I heard him let out a breath, and I looked up. His blue eyes were warmly fixed on mine, and this time, I knew he was smiling at me for real. I felt instantly relieved, like the tension between us had been quietly cleared. Then we both laughed sheepishly and I grinned, suddenly feeling as happy to see him as I always did.

He reached out and took my bag from me, casually slinging it over his shoulder.

"Look, it's great to see you, Gabi," he said. "So how about we get out of here? My car's downstairs, and it's finally got heating again."

I laughed and gently stopped my hand from taking his as we walked out to the elevators. "Oh, Troy," I said. "You always knew how to treat a girl."

------------------------------------------

We wound up at the grocery store.

"So this is dinner?" I said, raising my eyebrows.

Pushing the shopping cart beside me, Troy laughed. "No, this is actually grocery shopping. But there is a bit of dinner involved. I figured we'd eat in… since I know money can be kind of tight on trips." He coughed slightly, then grinned at me. "And this way, you get to come with me to pick out what you might want to eat. Even dessert."

"Wow, even dessert," I said, rolling my eyes and laughing. "I feel like a queen."

He laughed, stopping beside the soup section and grabbing a few cans. "You said it yourself. I know how to treat a girl."

We left the soup aisle and wandered a bit. He leaned over the cart's handle and looked at me sideways. He seemed careful not to break into my personal space. "So you're only here until Sunday then?" he asked.

"Sunday morning, really," I said. "Our flight leaves at 7am too. The price you pay for cheap tickets."

"Ahhh," he said. "So you're just missing out. My company's doing the keynote on Sunday at 9." He grinned over at me. "I made the slide show, so I'm kind of excited about it."

I laughed. "Sorry. I'd put that on TV if I was in charge, but you know how it is." Then we strolled by the freezer aisle, and suddenly I darted in and grabbed a package, grinning. "But this'll make it up to you. I've found our dessert."

He looked over and laughed. "Ahh… Fudgsicles." Taking the box from me, he put it in the cart and pushed on. "Well, a fine choice, Montez. You always had excellent taste."

------------------------------------------

He lived in a low, Spanish-style brown brick building. We parked in front and ran back and forth through the rain to carry the groceries into his apartment on the first floor. I could see the place was spacious, with dark hardwood floors and a smattering of modern art and unusually designed furniture. The kitchen was right next to the front door, opening onto a living room to the left, and a bedroom with attached bathroom to the right.

It was pouring as we finally ran in with the last bags. Troy dumped his on the counter and turned around. "Those Fudgsicles better be rain-free or you're out of here, Montez," he said, going over to close the door and lock it.

"Oh, put a sock in it," I said, laughing and putting my bags down. "If anything's getting wet, it's all the PopTarts you bought. What are you, fourteen?"

"Hey, don't be so hard on the PopTarts," he said, grinning. "Otherwise you won't get any. And that's all I've got in the way of breakfast foods."

I rolled my eyes, taking my coat off and trying to squeeze the water out of my hair. "And next you'll be telling me there's no room service in this place."

He laughed, walking toward the bedroom. "No, Montez. You have come to the wrong establishment for room service." Coming back into the kitchen, he handed me a towel. "But I can get you dinner. You just take care of that hair."

He grinned and turned back to the kitchen, putting the groceries away and getting started on the fresh pasta we had chosen. I sat down at the table to dry my hair, and felt a strange sense of being wonderfully at home. His kitchen seemed to be in pristine order, and he cooked with a meticulous eye to detail, hemming and hawing over the firmness of the pasta and the taste of the sauce. Finishing with my hair, I got up to help, but he wouldn't let me do anything.

"Seriously, I've got it almost ready," he said. Then he paused and pointed to a cupboard. "I'm all for you setting the table though."

I opened it to reveal a stack of charmingly mismatched plates. And in the drawer, I found all the forks had yellow plastic handles, but none of the other cutlery did.

He brought the food over to the table and it was delicious. And surprisingly, the Fudgsicles were the perfect way to end it. We nibbled at them, laughing and joking easily as we relaxed around the table. And suddenly I thought that if this had been another time, if the reunion hadn't happened and we hadn't agreed to leave it at that… I would have leaned over and kissed him right now.

But we did have the reunion, and we had agreed. And judging from the wistful look on his face, I knew he was thinking about the same thing.

"Gabi," he said, smiling at me. "It really is great to see you."

I nodded, smiling back. "Same here. This is a lot of fun."

He finished his Fudgsicle and put the wooden stick down. "And… I'm sorry about the last time. Just leaving like that. I didn't really know what I was doing. I think I was just confused."

I felt my cheeks turn red and I looked away. "Ahhh… Troy. It's OK."

"Anyway," he said. "It's good I didn't ruin things forever. I'm happy you called. And I'm glad we can be friends and still have a good time together. Like this."

And smiling, he covered my hand with his on the table. It was meant to be friendly, but a jolt of electricity surged through me, triggering the memory of his body against mine. I smiled and tried to put it out of my mind… and then without warning, I yawned loudly.

"OK, so maybe we have an incredibly boring time together," he said, laughing and lifting his hand off. He looked up at the clock. "Wow, it must be one in the morning back in New York. I shouldn't have kept you up. And hey, I forgot to tell you, but I think you should take my room while you're here."

"No…"

He smiled and gave me a warning look. "Hey, don't argue. The couch is fine. And you need a better night's sleep than I do. I don't have to be up until at least ten. Come on, Gabi."

And before I could do anything, he stood up and took our dishes to the sink, grabbing my bag on the way and putting it in his room. "Well, OK," I said, following him over and yawning again. "But… thanks, Troy. For everything."

His blue eyes were warm. "Just give me a shout if you need anything." He paused, then smiled. "And… have a good night."

The rain beat a soft rhythm on the window as I changed and climbed into his bed, wrapping myself in his plaid bedsheets and snuggling into his pillows. I could hear the clink of dishes as he washed and put them away. Lying there, I felt the old safe and happy feeling flood through me with a new intensity. And as I drifted off, I realized I hadn't thought about CNXN once this evening. It felt good.

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**Author's Note**: Hey readers! Send me a review! I'm starting to think I'm writing into a vacuum here and I'd love to hear from all of you. Hope you liked this chapter, because I do. I really like writing these characters together. And I especially love the idea of Troy's cutlery, don't know about you!

Also, do keep letting me know where you found this story if you don't mind. Yep, I know that if you search for "all ratings" on the main HSM page, you'll find this one there, but I'm curious how many people actually do that. Cause I certainly never did before I started writing this story.


	11. The Launch

**Disclaimer: **It's probably obvious, but I don't own any of the HSM characters or their related elements.

THIS FIC IS RATED **M**. THERE WILL BE **SOME ADULT CONTENT **IN THIS STORY.

A rating of M means this story is **not suitable for children or teens below the age of 16 with possible strong but non-explicit adult themes, references to violence, and strong coarse language.**

This is because there are sexy bits in this story, and that can make some people sad. If you are one of those people, please stop reading this story now.

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**Chapter 11** – **The Launch **

I arrived at the conference hotel in the morning and Amanda ambushed me at the entrance, carrying a large box behind her.

"Gabs, we have to do something with these," she said, dropping it at my feet and handing me a plastic press pass to wear around my neck. "Chris had them FedExed to the hotel yesterday."

I put on the pass and opened a flap of the box. There was a pile of black ball caps emblazoned with the red CNXN logo embroidered on the front. "We have hats?"

"We have 200 hats." She let out an exasperated breath. "We have to share one hotel room, but we have 200 hats overnighted to us. Now we've got to figure out what to do with them. Give them away, anything. Throw them off the roof, for all I care. No, wait, don't." She sighed again. "I guess Chris wants us to cross promote while we're here. So… find something to do with them, anyway."

She turned on her heel and started swiftly for the trade show in the hotel ballroom. I grabbed the box and chased after her, stumbling slightly. I didn't think hats could be so heavy. "Where's John?" I asked.

"Already over at the DTV booth, arranging for the satellite feed," she said, walking into the trade show and heading for the television area. "We go live at 9 and then we'll be taping the other segments for the rest of the day. Little C, the Striker Twins, and Kevin Claim are going to tour the booths, give us their thoughts on everything. We'll use it in the promos for next week."

We reached the DTV stage and she turned to me, an excited look on her face. "Get ready… CNXN is about to launch." Then she elbowed me in the side. "And perk up a little, huh? You look like you've been handed a death sentence. It's just TV."

She laughed, but I froze. I hadn't realized she could see it on my face.

I snapped into an instant smile, shifted the box on my hip and chased after her again as she raced away.

_Just one more day_.

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With a CNXN hat on his head, Kevin Claim was dancing in one of the booths for a video blogging company. He was the fifteen-year old star of some TV show on a kids network and the last interview of the day. I'd never heard of him before in my life before I had to book him for the show.

Amanda, however, already seemed to be his best friend. She wore a megawatt smile and coaxed him into trying sillier and sillier things for John's camera. I watched in amazement as she got him to talk about Web7 as if it was his favourite hangout, then even got him to do a little rap about CNXN. Chris would love that. Amanda really did know TV.

She clapped as he finished. "Thanks so much, Kevin!"

Kevin grinned and twirled on the spot. "No problem, Amanda."

He shook hands with her and went off with his publicist back out the ballroom doors. John followed him out with the camera for one last ending shot. And Amanda turned to me and grinned, putting her arms out to hug me tightly.

"Gabs… we did it!" She hugged me tighter. "And you did a great job. I think you're really cut out for TV work. You've got a knack." Letting go, she pointed at me. "So let's waste this per diem and go to a fancy restaurant for dinner to celebrate. Whatever's extra, I'll buy."

She grinned, then suddenly saw a couple of hats lying on the floor in the booth. "Oh crap. Those were Kevin's extras. I'll run them out to him before he goes." And before I knew it, she was off like a rocket out the doors.

Then for a minute, I stood there in the middle of the crowded trade show floor, simply letting a sense of complete exhilaration wash over me. The launch was finally done. _The launch was finally done. _And then almost by impulse, I jumped into the air in triumph. I landed, grinning… and then heard a familiar laugh behind me.

There stood Troy, wearing that teasing grin of his. "Hey," he said. "You got some good air there."

My cheeks flamed. "I guess so," I said, smiling. "We just finished taping, and it feels pretty good. What are you doing here?"

He lifted the delegate nametag around his neck sheepishly. "We're a sponsor, so we get a pretty big booth, right over there." He nodded over to the left. "Which also means some lucky guys get to stand around all day handing out buttons to people who don't want them."

I laughed and grabbed a hat out of the box. "It can't be worse than trying to get rid of these. And we don't even have a booth."

"Ahhhh… well, I'll take this one off your hands, if that helps." He put it on, smiling. "Anyway, listen. I saw you over here and remembered something. My company's hosting a party a couple of blocks from here, so I'll be out tonight. I don't know what your plans are later, but you can just give me a call when you need to get back into the apartment, and I'll be there."

I nodded. "OK."

Suddenly he laughed sheepishly. "Or… if you're not doing anything later… you're more than welcome to come. It'll just be a bunch of site users and industry types, but they can be fun. And I know you're leaving first thing tomorrow… but we don't have to stay late."

I remembered my plans. "Oh... Amanda wants to take us all to dinner, to celebrate." I paused, thinking. "But… if you give me the address, I'm sure I can come afterwards."

"Hey… that's great."

His face seemed to light up. He scribbled something down on a business card and handed it to me, grinning. "It starts at 8, so any time after that… just come on by."

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But it was late when John and Amanda dropped me off at the upstairs bar where the party was being held. Troy, however, had texted that he was still there, and from the street, I could tell the party still seemed to be in full swing.

I waved goodbye to the car and walked up the stairs. The sound of laughter and talking got louder as I neared the bar entrance, and flashes of light seemed to be constantly strobing onto the walls. I walked into the bar, a cozy room with unfinished brick walls, and saw that almost every person in the crowded room was carrying some kind of camera. And suddenly, a group of smiling faces near the entrance had lifted their lenses and the flashing lights were all on me.

I laughed and put my hands up to cover my face. Of course everybody would have a camera—the party _was _for the users of a photo website. But the flashes were so bright and fast, I couldn't put my hands down and look for Troy. I started to open my mouth to ask them to stop, when somewhere in the distance, I heard his voice call out.

"Easy there, photogs," Troy said good-naturedly. "Let's give her a chance to acclimatize before we go paparazzi on her."

The group laughed and the flashes subsided, though the whirring sound of cameras taking photos still echoed all over the room. Blinking hard, I saw Troy coming toward me from within the crowd, smiling. "Hey," he said warmly. "I just came up front to see if you got here yet. Looks like I was just in time to save you from the welcoming committee."

"Welcoming committee?"

"Ahhh," he said. "Well, at these parties we tend to have a group that stays at the front and takes pictures of everyone that comes in. It's actually kind of neat, but if you've never been to one of these before, it can seem kind of over the top."

"Maybe just a little," I said, smiling and rubbing my eyes.

"OK, it's an understatement. I'm sorry." He laughed. "Anyway, come on, let's sit down."

And suddenly, I felt a soft thrill as he touched my waist gently, ushering me forward in front of him further into the bar. I saw he was leading me to a table in the corner where three people sat. They looked up with interest as we approached.

"So who's this?" said a woman with curly red hair and funky red plastic glasses.

"This is Gabriella," said Troy, smiling. "She's an old friend of mine from high school. And Gabi, this are some of my co-workers—Mark, Wendy, and Lin."

Wendy was the redhead, and Lin was a bigger Asian girl with long dark hair. Mark wore square black glasses and had an easy smile. "High school, huh?" he said, looking at me. He let out a guffaw and slapped Troy gently on the back. "You better have some stories about this guy."

"Just a couple of good ones," I said, grinning at Troy mischievously as we sat down.

He gave me a mock-warning look. "Hey, be nice. I've got a couple about you too."

They all laughed. We fell quickly into conversation, and I was amazed how easy it was to talk to them—they were all so friendly, funny and smart. They told me about the website and the surprise of its rapid success since its launch a few years ago. But to me, it seemed like no wonder that they had done so well—every one of them truly seemed to believe in what they were doing.

Lin asked about what I did, and I told them all about _nucleus _and CNXN.

"Hey, that's the hat you were wearing earlier," Lin said, smiling at Troy.

"Yeah," I said, looking at Troy warmly as well. "It's kind of entertainment-heavy right now, but I'm looking forward to the heavier stuff once the show's established. I've been itching to do a profile of Markus Schnieder at Columbia, actually."

"Oh right, the superconductor guy!" Wendy looked suddenly interested. "That's so funny. My husband's been talking about doing a profile of him for the last little bit. He's an editor at Poptech, so I get to hear all about it." She laughed, rolling her eyes.

"Poptech--the tech magazine?" I asked. It was a really good publication.

"Yeah, their offices are just down the street," she said. Her eyes lit up. "But you should get in touch with them. If you can turn the TV piece into an article too, I'm sure he'd go for it." She fumbled in her purse for a second. "Here's his card. He's always saying they need more writers. I'll tell him you'll call."

"Wow, thanks a lot," I said, suddenly excited. I felt Troy nudge me with his elbow and looked over to see him smiling at me. _Nice work, Montez_, he mouthed.

I smiled back. He grinned, then seemed to look away bashfully, his eyes falling on the empty spot on the table in front of me.

"Hey, you haven't got a drink yet," he said, sounding slightly baffled.

"Nope," I said, getting my purse from under the table. "I haven't had a chance to…"

But he put his hand on my arm. "No, no, no," he said. "It's your last night in town. I'll get this one. Vodka and lime, right?"

I protested. "Oh no…. really…"

"Montez. I insist." He grinned and reluctantly I shrugged, smiling. He turned back to his friends. "And I'll get the next round for you three lushes," he said in mock exasperation, lifting the empty beer pitcher on the table. "Man, you guys go through it like water."

"We kind of need it to get through an evening with you, Troy," deadpanned Lin, and even Troy laughed as he got up and went over to the bar.

On his way there, I could see people from all over catch his sleeve to say hello, and a few even hugged him. He grinned and looked delighted to see every one of them. And watching him, I felt that weird sense of pride that I was here with him here today.

Then suddenly a voice spoke into my ear.

"So tell me—are you two really just 'good friends'?"

I turned around. Wendy leaned forward in her chair beside me, smiling playfully. Grinning back, I felt myself blush slightly as I answered.

"Yeah, we're just friends," I said. "We used to date in high school, but I'm just here on business this time around."

But her eyes were twinkling. "Well, you could have fooled me," she said. "I've seen him with other girls before, but you two… you seem to have something different." She laughed. "You know, he can't stop looking at you. It's like he's stealing glances at you every chance he gets. It's so cute. I've been poking Lin about it all night."

He was looking at me? I was really blushing now, though a warmth was suddenly spreading through my body. "Oh, I'm sure he wasn't…"

But she interrupted me with another laugh, leaning back in her chair and covering her mouth with her hand.

"Oh man, I'm sorry," she said, laughing as if she just couldn't help it. "I know you're probably just friends. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I'm just so used to teasing Troy about his love life… I got a little carried away." She grinned. "All the tech girls down here adore him, but he's never really settled on any of them. And you know he's cute as a button and such a nice guy… which makes him so much fun to tease."

She shook her head cheerfully, taking a sip of her beer. "I guess it just seemed funny to me. Because I must say, this is possibly the most excited I've seen him around a girl in a long time." She giggled. "I mean, he even wore that hat."

I guess… he did. I smiled and tried to reason her out of it. "Well.. I guess…"

But before I could finish, Troy was suddenly back at the table.

He grinned as he put my drink and the pitcher down, sitting back in his chair again. Wendy put her hand over her mouth again and looked innocently away. Nodding at him in thanks, I took my glass and lifted it to my lips. Then… out of the corner of my eye, I saw him discreetly slide his eyes over to me before turning back to talk to Mark.

I looked away, smiling, but found my eyes had turned straight back to Wendy. Instantly, I felt like my face was as red as her hair.

She laughed and raised her glass to me, smiling mischievously.

"See… you really could have fooled me."

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**Author's Note:** Thanks for the response to the last chapter, everyone! Please keep on reviewing! Writing can be a bit of a one-way affair, so it's wonderful to hear from all of you whenever I post something. My stats tell me I had 12 lovely and articulate reviews on the last chapter… so let's all see if we can we break that record for this one :)

Anyway… just so you know, we are nearing the end of the story now. Possibly three to four more chapters before I finish it off. But not for good—I like these characters so much that there really might be some oneshots about their future together. That, however, is a matter for discussion at a much later date…


	12. The Last Night

**Disclaimer: **It's probably obvious, but I don't own any of the HSM characters or their related elements.

THIS FIC IS RATED **M**. THERE WILL BE **SOME ADULT CONTENT **IN THIS STORY.

A rating of M means this story is **not suitable for children or teens below the age of 16 with possible strong but non-explicit adult themes, references to violence, and strong coarse language.**

This is because there are sexy bits in this story, and that can make some people sad. If you are one of those people, please stop reading this story now.

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**Chapter 12** – **The Last Night**

Somehow I found myself telling the story of how Troy and I first met. Wendy, Lin, and Mark roared when they heard about the vacation, the musical, and the crazy day we sabotaged the basketball championship and the scholastic decathlon.

"Oh my God," said Mark, wiping away tears from his eyes. "You guys. It sounds like something out of a wacky kids movie or something. That's insane."

"And Troy Bolton turns out to be a _singer_!" Wendy rocked back and forth in her chair, clutching her sides. "Oh, you are _never_ going to live this down. And there is no way you are getting out of going to the karaoke bar after this. No way at all."

Troy laughed, shaking his head. "Hey, I never said I wasn't a singer," he said. "I just… kind of kept that part to myself."

Then he curved his arm around my chair and whispered as his friends laughed. "So thanks a lot, Montez. Really."

"Hey, I come out of it as badly as you do," I said, giggling. "Well… maybe except for the hiding behind a mop part."

Playfully, he narrowed his eyes at me, but I saw that he kept his arm around the back of my chair when he leaned back. I pretended not to notice and leaned closer to him. I felt cheerfully buzzed on the drinks I'd had that evening. This whole evening had been wonderful.

Then Lin yawned, and I heard Troy let out a breath. "Oh man." He patted my shoulder. "Gabi, it's one o'clock. We've got to get you home."

"Oh God, we've really got to go," I said, yawning suddenly too. "Amanda's picking me up at 4:30 at your place. I've got to get packed and get at least some sleep."

But when I grabbed my bag and stood up, I wobbled slightly into Troy. "Watch yourself there, Montez," he said, grinning as he steadied me.

"Ah, you're always there when I need you, Bolton," I said, smiling and holding onto his arm. I turned to the table. "Well, it was lovely meeting you all. Really. If you're ever in New York, don't hesitate to look me up."

"Awww…" Wendy came around the table to hug me, followed by Lin, while Mark waved congenially from his chair. "It was lovely meeting you too," said Wendy, smiling. "Have a safe flight home." Looking over at Troy, she winked. "And see you at the conference tomorrow, keynote speaker."

He laughed. "Bright and early. I know."

We waved and made our way to the exit, but the bar was even more packed than before. Troy grabbed my hand and tugged me through as he squeezed out the door and the now-crowded staircase to emerge on the street. Popping out onto the sidewalk, I noticed we were still holding hands—and neither one of us was letting go.

"So," I said, grinning.

"So," he said, grinning back. "You want the good news or the bad news first?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "The bad news."

"OK," he said. "The bad news is that I'm in no shape to drive, and the buses aren't running that regularly right now. Once every hour is how it shapes up right now."

"And the good news?"

He laughed. "The good news is that I didn't drive here. And I live about fifteen blocks away."

"Ohhhhhh." I smiled, swinging our hands slightly. "So you're telling me we're walking?"

"I'm telling you we're walking," he said, laughing. "But we'll have you home safe in about half an hour."

"OK," I said.

And smiling, we headed south, walking hand in hand down the street.

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We laughed and talked all the way home. It felt like no time at all until he was suddenly he was letting us into his front door with his keys. Grinning, I kept hold of his hand as we went inside. Then suddenly we found ourselves standing there, still hand in hand and not sure where to go next.

"Well," he said finally, breaking our hands apart. "It's late, Gabi. You should get to bed."

"Yeah," I said, smiling warmly at him.

"But it has been great having you here," he said, grinning. "I had a really good time tonight. You're pretty good company."

"Well, you too," I said. "You can be kind of a fun guy sometimes. And an excellent host."

"Aww… you're going to make me blush," he said, smiling. Impulsively, he put his arms around me and wrapped me up in a hug. "You have a good night then. All three hours of it. And wake me up before you go so we can say goodbye."

I grinned, feeling a thrill as I held him close to me. But suddenly, his hand brushed my lower back… and I knew he felt me shiver.

His blue eyes suddenly fixed on mine, filled with apprehension. I could hardly breathe… but I couldn't pull away. And I saw he was breathing carefully, as if he too couldn't find the air in the room anymore. Then suddenly, without thinking, I leaned forward and kissed him.

And it was like something had exploded inside both of us. We kissed as if we were starving for each other, going deeper and deeper, his tongue pressing urgently against mine. His arms tightened around my back and my arms locked around his neck, and we crushed our bodies as close to each other as we possibly could.

He broke free and looked at me, his eyes shining but suddenly concerned. "Gabi…"

Breathing hard, I looked at him. "I want to, Troy," I whispered breathlessly. "It's not the drinks talking. It's me. And… I want to."

And then he kissed me again, just as deep, his hand moving into my hair and holding the back of my neck. I closed my eyes and drank him in, my body leaning closer and closer into his as we kept on going.

Then suddenly, his arms moved around my waist and lifted me off the ground. I wrapped my legs around his hips, and we moved to collapse onto his bed. I felt him gently unbutton my shirt as his lips traveled down toward my breasts. And though I moaned, neither of us spoke, not wanting to destroy this fragile moment with something so definite as words.

He smiled and paused for a minute, rolling onto his side and leaning back onto his arm. Then he gently kissed my shoulder as he took off my shirt, my bra, my jeans, my everything. He hooked a thumb into the side of my panties and pulled them down teasingly slow, kissing my mouth and down my neck as I shivered from sheer anticipation. I pulled off his shirt and kissed the hollow at the base of his throat as I unzipped his pants, my mouth moving down over his chest and sides as I peeled his clothes away.

His skin was warm on mine as we held each other close. And then we started to touch and tease and explore, both of us instinctively remembering the spaces and strokes that made the other cry out in pure pleasure. He slid a hand down my side and caressed my hip, then made me gasp as he kissed my mouth and moved his fingers between my legs at the same time, gently sliding them within me. He reached over to his bedside table, grabbed a condom and tore the package open with his teeth. Then suddenly he was rolling me onto my back and nudging inside me, thrusting slow and deep and more satisfying than I had ever had before.

I pulled him close, my breath bursting out as he thrust into me. Shaking from the pleasure, I slid my hands down to grip his backside, pulling him in deeper. I came in a glorious, intense rush, crying his name out over and over as my hands held his lower back tight. And then a few seconds later, he let out a cry and fell softly against me, and we lay there, feeling the pleasure recede in a soft ebb throughout our bodies.

Then he lifted his head and kissed me again, softly and sweetly. We both smiled, and then I closed my eyes and shifted my hips, feeling slightly empty as he withdrew from me. A minute later, I felt his him lie down beside me on his back, shifting the covers and gently tucking them over us. I snuggled into his side, exhausted, and drifted almost immediately into a warm and dreamless sleep.

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A soft ringing woke me up.

Cracking an eye, I realized I was still cuddled into Troy's side. He sighed as I kissed his side and moved gently away. I looked suspiciously around the room, trying to figure out where the ringing was coming from. But I froze as I realized what it was. My cell phone. It must be Amanda. Waiting to take me back to New York.

Nervous adrenalin suddenly rushed through me. I jumped out of the bed and grabbed the cell phone out of my purse. "Hello?" I whispered, going into the bathroom and closing the door.

"Gabs." Amanda sounded tired. "Where are you? It's 4:40 and we're outside your door."

I felt suddenly like I wanted to cry. "I'm here," I said. "I just need to grab my stuff. Give me five minutes. Ten minutes. I'll be there soon."

"OK," she said, yawning. "But we've got to get going. We have to gas up the car and drop it off at the rental place before we go. See you in a bit."

I closed the phone and my stomach twisted sickeningly. Opening the door a crack, I saw Troy sleeping in the bed and felt suddenly, crazily desperate. There he was… my Troy, and I had to leave him again. And what in God's name had we just done?

Tears pricked at my eyes as I slipped into the bedroom, finding my clothes on the floor and putting them back on. Last night had been wonderful… but some part of me wished we hadn't done it. I tied my hair into a loose side ponytail and packed my bag while inside I tore myself apart. I should have been smarter, more careful, more guarded… so something like this didn't happen. So I didn't have to leave him… and lose him all over again.

The tears were falling now. I found my coat and zipped my bag up, locking the small locks on it while I cursed everything inside my head. Then suddenly, I heard a soft murmur come from Troy's direction.

"Hey… what's going on?"

He had turned on his side and was looking at me. Taking a deep breath, I went and crouched down next to him, looking him in the eye.

"Troy," I said, my voice shaking. "Amanda called. I have to go."

"OK," he said sleepily. Then his eyes seemed to focus and turn slightly frantic. "Oh, God, Gabi… don't go."

"I'm sorry," I said miserably, the tears sliding down my face. "But I have to. I just… have to. I can't stay. We both know that. And last night… last night was perfect… but I just have to go."

He let out a breath. "No. You don't have to do this. We don't have to…."

But I shook my head in frustration, getting up to grab my bag and brushing the tears out of my face. "We can't," I said. "You know we can't. It's like I told you at the reunion. I don't have the money. I couldn't stand you spending all your money on me. I'm still trying to find who I am at this new job, which looks like it could really work out." I looked at him for a moment. "I don't regret what happened last night… but you know I never wanted to remember this relationship by how it burned out. I just wanted to remember what we had."

I headed for the door. He sat up, trying to find his clothes, and got out of bed to follow me. "Gabi. No. We could make this…"

But I turned to him, almost shouting, the tears coming faster now. "I swear, I wish you and me could work. You don't know how badly I want it to work. But we're not dreamy teenagers kissing after basketball games anymore. Life just doesn't work out like that. It's hard, and you have to make compromises, and sometimes, you just have to give things up." I took a deep breath. "Just… please, Troy. We already made it harder. Don't make it worse. Let's just… call it a day, and let it go."

There was a silence as we looked at each other. And then suddenly he spoke, his blue eyes open and honest.

"I love you, Gabi," he said simply.

I felt my heart cave in. I stared at him, and choked out an answer.

"I'm so sorry, Troy."

And turning away, I opened the door and I left him.

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**Author's Note**: Just 6 reviews on the last chapter! But that's an easier number to beat for this chapter now. And I think I've given you much to talk about with this one :)


	13. The Airport

**Disclaimer: **It's probably obvious, but I don't own any of the HSM characters or their related elements.

THIS FIC IS RATED **M**. THERE WILL BE **SOME ADULT CONTENT **IN THIS STORY.

A rating of M means this story is **not suitable for children or teens below the age of 16 with possible strong but non-explicit adult themes, references to violence, and strong coarse language.**

This is because there are sexy bits in this story, and that can make some people sad. If you are one of those people, please stop reading this story now.

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**Chapter 13** – **The Airport**

I threw my bag in the car, squeezing in beside the giant box of hats crammed into the backseat. The car smelled faintly of garlic sausage. "OK, I'm ready, let's go," I said, wiping the tears from my face with both my hands.

In the passenger seat, Amanda turned to face me skeptically. "Are you OK?"

"Yeah," I said, trying to bring my breathing back to normal. "My friend just called. My… cat died."

She turned sympathetic. "Oh, Gabs, I'm sorry."

"Sorry, Gabriella," said John, pulling away from the curb. "I know pets. They can be like family. How long did you have it?"

"Uh… four years," I said, looking away. "But if you don't mind… I kind of don't want to talk about it right now."

And thankfully, they left me alone. My eyes felt raw as I turned to look out the window. The city was still grey and dark so early in the morning. It seemed to match how I was feeling inside—tired, and so confused.

I was still shaking slightly. Last night had been good… so good… but I really hadn't come on this trip to rekindle anything with him. Much as I wanted him to… he just didn't fit into my life in New York. And I knew I was right, that it was best to cut it off now, so we could still keep some good memories before things went too far and we couldn't go back.

But he said he loved me. Could things go any farther than that?

Suddenly, I wanted to cry again. I felt like I had a gaping, open wound in my heart. I put my head against the window and closed my eyes, wishing that user's manual for life really did exist. Because right now… I sure as hell didn't have any answers.

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Unsurprisingly, I wound up lugging the box of hats into the airport after we returned the car. John had the camera gear, and Amanda had inexplicably carried more luggage than John and I combined.

I still felt ragged. I dragged the box onto a luggage cart and stared at it hatefully. The bloody thing seemed bottomless. I'd handed as many hats as I could out on Saturday and it never seemed to empty. As we walked through the airport toward the check-in desk, I opened the box flaps and started handing them out to random strangers as we passed by. My mind felt spastic, and Troy kept creeping into my thoughts. I needed a distraction.

"Here, have a hat. It's free. Keep it."

"You want two hats? You got it."

"What's CNXN? It's a science show. Oh, OK, so you don't want the hat. Yeah, that's OK."

"What's CNXN? Oh… it's a punk band. Um… yeah, they do some Christian stuff. Yeah, take three, for sure. Here's an extra, for good measure."

Amanda nudged me. "Don't say that."

I shrugged. "You told me to figure out what to do with them. As long as someone's wearing them, does it really matter?"

She sighed at me and suddenly her phone rang. "Hold on. It's Chris."

Amanda had the ticket info, but we were early to check in anyway. While she chatted next to a window, I hauled my cart over and sat myself down at the end of a row of chairs. But John had disappeared to the bathroom, and suddenly I found myself alone, a wave of fatigue rolling over me. Immediately, the memory of Troy began to seep in again. Waking up next to him this morning. How he said he loved me. And… how his face looked when I had turned and walked out.

_Stop it._ I could feel myself start tearing up again and calmed myself down. Just as long as I didn't think of him… it was all right. It was going to have to be.

Then suddenly, a voice spoke.

"Excuse me, but are you Gabriella?"

A friendly-looking blonde man wearing silver rectangular glasses was smiling at me from the row of seats in front. He spoke English with an accent, adding an odd but charming cadence to his syllables and pronouncing his u-sounds like oo's.

I squinted at him. "I'm sorry… do I know you?"

He laughed. "Well, I don't think so. But I believe you are a friend of a friend of mine. His name is Troy Bolton?"

I felt my heart twist. "I… how do you…"

He smiled. "I don't mean to startle you. I have merely seen your picture." He laughed slightly. "It is a bit of an… excitement… on the Internet at the moment. Here. Let me show you."

And he came to sit beside me, carrying a silver laptop and opening it so I could see.

"My name is Kristiaan," he said, shaking my hand and smiling. "I have come from the Netherlands to attend Web7. I didn't manage to go to the photo party yesterday, so I checked the website this morning for the photos."

"The photos?" I said.

He laughed again. "Of course—the photos. The joke is that these parties are always well photographed. Every user has a camera, so it is tough to miss an angle. A keyword tag is given out at the party, and afterwards, the users will upload to the website and label all of their photos with this keyword. So if we search for the party keyword, we will find all the photographs from last night."

He typed as he talked, and a grid of pictures appeared on the screen. Tapping the keyboard, large versions of the photos began to roll by in a slideshow. And as I watched, the world seemed to fade completely, and I found myself suddenly overwhelmed with the thought of Troy.

Because there he was making faces in a group photo by the bar. There he was sitting with Lin and Wendy at their table, looking so handsome as he laughed. And there he was again, suddenly looking up in wonder… because in the distance, you could see I had entered the room.

And there I was, my hands covering my face and laughing as I came in. There he was rescuing me. And there was my face, looking up at his as he came to meet me... looking happier than I could ever remember myself.

I could hardly breathe as the photos continued. I saw Troy stealing a glance at me as I talked animatedly next to him, with so much love in his eyes. I saw me leaning into the curve of his arm as we laughed at the end of the evening. And I even saw us holding hands, standing close together on the sidewalk, smiling at each other as if no one else existed.

And I was shaking again. Because inside, something had snapped devastatingly into place. Because looking at him there… I suddenly knew without a doubt that I loved him too. He was strong and good and wonderful, and I was never sad or lost when I was with him. Whatever happened at the reunion… it was still here, and stronger than ever. I suddenly thought that I had always loved him… I just never wanted to admit it, because it was so impossible for us.

But an intense horror suddenly spread through me. Things were quickly becoming _more _impossible. He had already said he loved me... and I had shouted at him and left. And I was in an airport… leaving in less than an hour to go back to New York. What… had I done? What… was I going to do?

I felt my throat start to close and a crazy sense of desperation built up in me again. Frantically, I looked around and realized Kristiaan was speaking.

"Troy is a well-known person in the industry, and always the subject of much good-natured speculation regarding his private life. There are many comments attached to these photos, describing the both of you as 'cute.'" He chuckled. "I like Troy very much. I'm glad that the both of you are happy."

And then Amanda was leaning down to me, beaming as she got off the phone. "Gabs… Chris says the show was a big hit! But judging from audience reactions, they're going to tweak a few things. We'll be switching gears and just focusing on the celebrity content… and they're renaming it StarTech!"

I stared at both of them in shock, and then suddenly burst into mad, sobbing tears.

"Oh sweetie, don't cry," said Amanda, stroking my hair. "The cat's probably in a better place now. And don't worry. You'll be home to see it soon."

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**Author's Note** – Bang, you readers are awesome. 12 reviews again for the last chapter! If we keep this up I could crack 100 by the end of the story, and wouldn't that be great. Anyway, hope you liked this chapter. They'll work it out soon, I promise…


	14. The Flight

**Disclaimer: **It's probably obvious, but I don't own any of the HSM characters or their related elements.

THIS FIC IS RATED **M**. THERE WILL BE **SOME ADULT CONTENT **IN THIS STORY.

A rating of M means this story is **not suitable for children or teens below the age of 16 with possible strong but non-explicit adult themes, references to violence, and strong coarse language.**

This is because there are sexy bits in this story, and that can make some people sad. If you are one of those people, please stop reading this story now.

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**Chapter 14** – **The Flight**

I fought back the tears and got up to talk to Amanda, trying to figure out what had just happened.

"Forget the cat, Amanda," I said, my voice still shaky. "What did Chris say? What happened to the show?"

"Well, as far as I know, the audience really responded to the celeb stuff," she said. "And the networks in Canada and the UK really wanted to ramp that up before they were willing to syndicate. So… StarTech it is! Isn't that great?"

She patted my shoulder, but I felt my whole body slump. "But the hard science stuff?" I asked. "It's just… gone?"

"Pretty much," she laughed. "But really, who wanted to do that stuff anyway?

I felt something in me completely give out.

"Amanda," I said, looking at her directly. "_I_ wanted to do the hard science stuff."

"You did?" She seemed taken aback. "But... Gabs, you seemed OK when we went more toward the lighter fare."

"Because I didn't know any better!" I said angrily. "I just thought you needed this done. I thought it was just a stopgap until we got to the harder stuff."

"Oh, Gabs," she said, a look of dismay on her face. "I'm… sorry. I really thought you'd be happy with this. I just assumed… I mean, you seemed so up for any challenge I threw at you. And you even came in on weekends.

The sickening reality hit home.

She was right. Of course it looked like I loved it. Banking on a payoff, I had given everything to try to love this job. I had given up my pride, my friends, my _life_ for it. And it had disappeared, into thin air.

I felt something wrench horribly in my head. How _wrong _I had been. Putting everything I had into something that only ever half-existed. And when something came along that did exist… that was true and good and real… I couldn't even begin to try.

But if I was wrong before… I didn't have to be now. And I suddenly knew what I needed to do.

I turned to Amanda, my voice still shaking slightly. "Amanda… I quit."

"What?" She looked horrified. "You can't quit. How are we going to do the show?"

"I don't know," I said, grabbing the handle of my luggage cart. "But I can't do it anymore. I know you love it… but it's not for me. I'm sorry. But I… I've got to go."

I started to rush away—but Amanda ran in front of me. "Gabs…" she said. "Don't do this. StarTech is going to be big. Think about what you're doing. Think about the opportunities you'll have now." She paused. "Don't think about the… cat."

I stared at her in disbelief, then suddenly sagged over the cart's handle and laughed.

"Amanda, there is no cat," I said. "But there is an opportunity right now. And I need to get out of here before I miss it completely."

And as I left her, I realized the stupid box of CNXN hats was still on the cart. I kicked it off near a bunch of chairs, and left it there.

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I ran through the airport, following the signs to the train station, my heart racing every step of the way. The BART, the city's public train system, stopped right in the airport and could shoot you right downtown in half an hour. It was the fastest way for me to get back to Troy.

I ditched the cart near the train station entrance, then bought a ticket, grabbed my bag, and ran down the steps to the platform. Nervous adrenalin shot through me and I tried to stifle the rising panic about how Troy might react. I just needed to do this, to finally pull out all the stops for him and tell him how I felt. I didn't know what would happen next.

It took ten agonizing minutes before the train arrived. I pushed through the crowd of travellers to jump onto a car first, sitting down in one of the plush green chairs. The train whooshed firmly onward, and suddenly I could only hear my heart pounding in my ears. I hugged my bag to my stomach for some comfort. Sitting there, suddenly all I could think about was what Troy might say. Would he turn away coldly? Would he throw my words back at me? _I'm sorry, I'm sorry_, I repeated under my breath like a protective mantra.

The stops just didn't seem to be coming fast enough. I watched the passengers as they got on and off as we headed closer to the city. A man sat across from me and opened a copy of the San Francisco Examiner. Suddenly, I saw a familiar face in the corner of the front page and did a double take. It was Zeke.

Without thinking I asked for the paper. The man sniffed and handed it to me swiftly. "Keep it." And scanning the article, I saw the headline read, "How Bay Area baker rolled into landmark New Mexico divorce case."

It seemed Sharpay was divorcing her husband… and suing for a massive amount of support based on his cheating and her contributions to his career. And Zeke… well… he was the reason the divorce started in the first place. Somehow, after the reunion, they had become a couple again, and they were pictured inside, holding hands and smiling.

And strangely, it all made me feel slightly better. Because at least I wasn't the only one from East High fighting for the one I loved. I looked at their smiling faces and felt a sense of hope. Maybe, just maybe… I could be that happy too.

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The train finally pulled into the city. I got off downtown and ran all the way to Troy's apartment, recognizing the way from the walk last night. The sun was shining brightly now, and I was sweating lightly when I hit his building and pressed his buzzer. I waited anxiously on the step… but there was no answer, even when I buzzed again.

There was no stopping now. I went around the side of the building to look through his windows and the place was dark and still. At his bedroom window, I could see the bed was unmade, untouched since I saw Troy get out of it last. I felt a twinge as I saw the stupid CNXN hat sitting on the dresser. And I realized where he had to be. The conference.

I had forgotten. His company was giving the keynote speech at 9 this morning. I looked at my watch and saw it was already 8:15… and I had to hop another bus and walk to get there.

I let out a breath in despair… and then steeled myself again. Best not to panic. It was best to focus on what I could do, not how frantic I felt. I took a deep breath and tried to think calmly. If I left now, I could possibly, just possibly catch him before he went onstage.

I turned around and started to run.

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**Author's Note**: I've said it before, but I'll say it again: you readers are amazing. And it's not just because you've come through when I've asked you to review—it's because the _quality _of your reviews have been so thoroughly stellar. For the most part, each one of you has left an eloquent, interesting comment on the story that makes me really look forward to creating the story and keeping you all engaged. So thanks guys, this story is that much better because of you. Please keep it up—we're just 10 reviews away from 100, and I'll be sure to name names when this is all done!

Oh, and hope you liked the chapter… I had to cut it off there for length reasons, and because don't we all love a good cliffhanger:) But no worries, I'm working on the next part already, so we'll get there soon!


	15. The Keynote

**Disclaimer: **It's probably obvious, but I don't own any of the HSM characters or their related elements.

THIS FIC IS RATED **M**. THERE WILL BE **SOME ADULT CONTENT **IN THIS STORY.

A rating of M means this story is **not suitable for children or teens below the age of 16 with possible strong but non-explicit adult themes, references to violence, and strong coarse language.**

This is because there are sexy bits in this story, and that can make some people sad. If you are one of those people, please stop reading this story now.

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**Chapter 15** – **The Keynote**

As I burst into the lobby of the conference hotel, I could see on the wall clock that it was already 9. Breathing hard, I cursed out loud, startling a family of tourists who walked by.

"Sorry," I said, starting to run again, heading for the trade show floor. Maybe they hadn't quite gone on yet… maybe he was still at his company's booth.

He wasn't. But then… neither was anyone else. The whole trade show seemed deserted, with just security and a few random people sitting halfheartedly in their booths. Breathless, I went up to a guy in a denim shirt at the Nintendo X4 booth, who flipped forlornly through a gaming magazine. "Hey… where is everybody?" I asked.

"Oh, at the photo keynote," he said, resignedly. "Everybody's ditched work for it. They made me stay behind, just in case anyone came by." He gestured to the empty floor. "As if that's going to happen."

I felt like I was grasping madly for straws. "Where's the keynote?" I asked.

He pointed outside the trade room and around to the left. "In the Aldergrove ballroom over there."

And I was off before he had finished, my heart rising. Maybe they were running late… maybe I could catch him…

But I slowed as I saw the ballroom entrance. A huge crowd of people overflowed outside the double doors. I could barely see into the room, let alone reach Troy in time to talk to him. But all of a sudden, I could hear his voice, booming out loud and clear over the speakers.

"OK, check one, check two," he said. He laughed. "Hello, Web7. I feel like a rock star up here."

"You are a rock star!" shouted someone from the audience, and I could hear Troy laugh just as hard as everyone else did before he continued.

"So," he said. "It kind of feels like we're breaking a fire regulation in here, but… I won't tell anyone if you won't." The crowd laughed again. "So everybody thanks for coming, and welcome to Design Intelligence – on building powerful web communities, and user-inspired web design. I'll be doing the first third of the presentation, then you can look forward to Wendy Dubchenko and Mark Jackson taking over the rest."

He kept speaking, but inside I felt frantic again. I just wanted to see him, talk to him… see where we stood right now. But… I guessed I would have to wait till the end of the speech. Lowering my head, my shoulders slumped down, and I let out a long, agonizing breath.

But suddenly, at the sound of my sigh, someone in front of me turned around.

"Hey… Gabriella, right?"

I looked up and saw a young man smiling at me. He must have seen me on the site. I felt myself blush and nodded at him. And then suddenly, he stepped aside and gestured in front of him, urging me to move forward within the crowd.

Looking at him tentatively, I stepped forward, smiling in thanks.

And then… the person in front of him turned to see me, smiled, and urged me to move forward again.

And somehow, I couldn't stop. Slowly, on a sea of almost magical goodwill, I found myself edging further and further into the ballroom. Every person who saw me smiled as if seeing an old friend, shifted over, and made room for me to walk by. I looked at each of them and smiled back, my heart racing as I moved closer and closer to Troy. And suddenly, as I emerged near the stage at the front of the standing crowd, a girl in the front row caught my eye and beckoned me over to sit.

I shook my head, but she came over and stood beside me, smiling. "Go ahead," she said. "You look like you could use a rest. And I sit enough at my job anyway."

I looked at her in a combination of shock and gratitude. "You really don't…"

"Really," she said, grinning and giving me a gentle push toward it. "Now go on, take the seat before it goes to waste."

And crazily, I suddenly found myself just a few feet away from Troy. He stood at a podium in front of me, talking easily with the room as Wendy and Mark sat in chairs on the stage behind him. A jarring, bizarre rush of emotions flooded through me. I felt bewildered as to how I got here, and completely unsure what would happen next.

And then I realized that as he talked, he cast his eyes casually across the audience, making a connection with the swarm of faces in the room. And before I could make a move to get away… he suddenly connected with me.

And it was like someone had punched him in the stomach.

I could hear him lose his breath. Putting his elbow on the podium, he appeared to reel from the impact. I could see him try to make his mouth work, but no sound seemed to be coming out. Then his eyes began to flick blindly around the room, looking to rest on someone. And in the end… they returned to me.

I couldn't breathe. The crowded ballroom had gone completely, awkwardly silent. Behind Troy, the slideshow was stuck on the first point of its newest slide. And suddenly, through the microphone, we all heard something croak quietly out of Troy's throat.

"You came back."

He was staring right at me now, a stunned look on his face. The audience began to shift and murmur nervously. Behind him, I could see Wendy get up and touch Troy's shoulder, and then she followed his line of sight to stare over at me too. And my stomach twisted as I heard the sound of hundreds of bodies turning to look at me, their eyes boring holes into my head.

I felt my face burn as they stared. But looking back at Troy, it suddenly felt like there was just the two of us here. And gathering what little strength I had left, I got to my feet and willed myself to speak.

"I quit my job, Troy," I said.

He looked away. "You quit your job." Then he looked back at me sharply. "You quit your job?"

I nodded, a tentative smile on my face. "And then… I came back to see you." I paused for a minute, trembling. "Because I'm so, so sorry. For leaving. For everything."

He nodded numbly, staring at me. And suddenly I couldn't stop talking.

"And I know I didn't say it back, but… I feel the same way too." A tear started to slide down my cheek and my voice got thick. "I love you. I always have. I don't know why I wouldn't believe it before. But I do. I love you. I do."

And as I talked, the tears started to fall faster, and I could hardly see him any more. But from the blurs that I could see, it looked like he was moving to the left, running somewhere away from me. My heart dropped horribly low and I let out a sob, lifting my arm to wipe my tears away with my sleeve. And then without warning… I felt his arms slip around me, pulling me close. And those blue eyes were suddenly, devastatingly, centimetres from my own.

"Gabi," he said, putting his forehead to mine. "You're beautiful. Do you know that?"

And his eyes were filled with so much love.

Then slowly, the biggest smile in the world began to spread across my face. And without thinking, I lifted my head and kissed him, my arms winding around his neck as he deepened it, sheer relief hammering through me with every beat of my heart.

And we finally broke apart to the sound of thunderous applause.

Still holding tight to each other, we looked out at the cheering audience, smiling sheepishly. Troy gave a half-hearted wave, spurring more whistles, hoots, and camera flashes. On stage, Wendy got onto the microphone. "Well, the tag for those photos should be boltonkiss, if anyone was wondering," she said, laughing.

And then suddenly, in the midst of it all, he held me close again, whispering gently in my ear.

"So thanks a lot, Montez," he said, grinning. "Really."

I laughed, wiping away the last of my tears. "Hey, I come out of it as badly as you do," I said, smiling. Then holding him tight, safe in the circle of his arms, I whispered again, a wonderful warmth spreading through me. "I love you, Troy."

He kissed my cheek and smiled. "Gabi… I love you too."

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**Author's Note: **You reviewers, so wonderful! You've all left amazing, articulate comments … and we cracked 100 reviews already! So in tribute to all of you, I present this chapter, and hope you like it as much as I do. I've still got one more chapter planned to finish it off, but I'm not sure when it will be written and posted. Real life is kind of interfering, but I'm working on it!


	16. The Anniversary

**Disclaimer: **It's probably obvious, but I don't own any of the HSM characters or their related elements.

THIS FIC IS RATED **M**. THERE WILL BE **SOME ADULT CONTENT **IN THIS STORY.

A rating of M means this story is **not suitable for children or teens below the age of 16 with possible strong but non-explicit adult themes, references to violence, and strong coarse language.**

This is because there are sexy bits in this story, and that can make some people sad. If you are one of those people, please stop reading this story now.

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**Chapter 16** – **The Anniversary**

The next morning, a ray of sunshine on my face woke me up. I panicked suddenly, thinking someone had broken into my apartment, and then I realized I was simply in Troy's bed, not mine. And as I turned to see Troy sleeping beside me, I felt a rush of happiness as I remembered the keynote… and the time we spent in bed last night.

He stirred at my movements and his eyes fluttered lazily open.

"Hey," he said sleepily, reaching for me under the covers and pulling me close. "How's my girl this morning?"

"Stuck in bed with some photo nerd," I said, kissing his forehead. Then a realization hit me. "Oh God… and I'm unemployed."

He laughed, kissing me on the cheek as he shifted onto his side. "It's OK. You're smart. You'll find something soon."

I slumped my head down. "But that means I'm totally broke." Another realization hit me. "Ohhh… and I don't even have a ticket home."

"Kind of burned your bridges on that one, Montez," he said, grinning. Then he moved some strands of hair out of my face and looked at me seriously. "But… it does mean you have a bit of a window to stick around for awhile."

He kissed down my neck, and my body stirred at his touch.

"But I'm broke, Troy," I said, as he reached the base of my throat. "And I can't… be… a freeloader here."

His hand caressed my lower back, and his mouth moved over my right breast. "Well, I like freeloaders."

"Troy… I can't," I said, my hands clutching at his neck in spite of myself.

He moved back up and kissed me on the mouth. "Then seriously, just consider it a loan until you're on your feet again."

I looked at him and his blue eyes were solemn. And then slowly, they turned teasing as he moved his thigh gently up between my legs. I shivered as a delicious thrill ran through me, and he kissed my mouth again. "Ohhh, Bolton," I sighed, putting my leg around his hip to pull him closer. "You got me. I'll stay."

And so I planned to stay for just the week. That is, until we met Wendy and her husband for dinner that night… and I came away with an assignment for Poptech.

And then, one assignment turned into another … and somehow I didn't end up going back to New York at all, after that.

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And then I was on a plane heading toward Albuquerque again, my mom waiting at the airport carousel to pick me up.

She swept me up immediately into a hug. "Hi Gabi," she said, beaming. "Where's Troy?"

"Oh, he flew in last night," I said, smiling. "He had to help with some of the preparations for the big anniversary dinner party. Some kind of surprise."

My mother laughed. "I can't believe those Boltons. Thirty years together." She poked me teasingly. "And six months for you two already. You look happy, Gabi."

"Ahh, Mom," I said, blushing as I fetched my luggage.

She laughed again. "Well, I'm glad. I always liked Troy. You know that."

We piled into the car and drove home, my mom glancing over at me proudly the entire time. And when Troy came to pick me up for the dinner, she gave him the same proud look, hugging him too. "Oh, Troy. You look even more handsome than when I saw you last."

He laughed. "Well, thanks, Ms. Montez. It's Gabi's fault, really. She paid for the plastic surgery."

"Well, you've healed so nicely," my mom said, laughing. Then her eyes turned soft as I stood up from the couch and Troy took my hand, ready to lead me to the door.

"Oh," she blurted out. "It's just like when you dated in high school. So cute." She put her hand over her mouth and giggled as we laughed sheepishly. "Oh, but don't mind me. I'm just an old lady reminiscing. You kids should go now. Have fun."

She stood at the door and watched, smiling, as we got into the car. And as we turned back to wave one more time to her, I could swear I saw her mouth the words, _Good luck_.

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I knew what she meant, though. I had been bracing myself to meet Coach Bolton on the flight over. Troy's parents knew I had been living with Troy for some time now, but ever since that musical all those years ago… I still wasn't sure where I stood with the coach. And this was the first time I would see him since the reunion.

But the evening at the restaurant went surprisingly well. Coach Bolton wasn't exactly warm toward me at the start, but he wasn't exactly cold either. And throughout dinner and the presentations Troy had organized, he seemed to relax more and more. During a funny slideshow of their wedding photos, I could see Coach Bolton smile contentedly as Mrs. Bolton rested her head on his shoulder. And when his eyes caught me looking at the two of them, he nodded slightly at me, still smiling.

Then later, as the guests were leaving, and as Mrs. Bolton laughed and danced with Troy on the empty dance floor, he sat next to me at the table and sighed wistfully.

"Thirty years," he breathed, as if thinking out loud. He looked over at me. "It flies by, you know. Just yesterday I could swear I had just met Joanne. And Troy was just a little kid falling down around the house in diapers."

He laughed and I smiled back. "Thirty years is amazing, Mr. Bolton. And you two still seem so in love."

"Well." His eyes softened visibly, and he fidgeted with a napkin on the table. His neck flushed the way that Troy's sometimes did. "It's not hard, when you find the right one."

Then he looked up at me, and his voice sounded strangely tentative. "Gabriella… a long time ago, I think we got off on the wrong foot."

It was my turn to look away, blushing. "Oh… that was a long time ago."

But he touched my shoulder, speaking sincerely. "I just wanted you to know… that there's no hard feelings. There never have been. Because… I've never seen Troy so happy as when he's with you. Not even when he was on the basketball court."

Then he smiled at me, and I smiled back. And putting his arm around my chair, we turned our eyes to the dance floor, both drawn wonderfully, helplessly back to the people we loved.

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And just like in high school, Troy took me home in the wee hours of the morning. I unlocked the front door and he followed me into the house, holding my hand and padding softly on the stairs as I led the way to my bedroom.

"It doesn't seem right to come in this way," he said as I opened my bedroom door. "I'm so used to climbing in here over the balcony."

"Well, you can go downstairs and climb back in if you want," I said, kicking my high heels off and sitting on the bed. "But I'm staying right here."

"Ahh, where's the adventure in that, Montez?" He sat down next to me and laughed.

I smiled, lying down on my side and stretching my legs out. "Thanks for taking me to the party, by the way. It was a great time."

"Of course," he said, leaning back onto his side and pulling me close to him. "You had to come or it wouldn't have been a party."

"Yeah, sure," I said, kissing him on the cheek. "And I wouldn't have heard about how five-year old Troy dropped his pants at his cousin's birthday, all because no one paid enough attention to him."

"Ahhhh…" He turned red, and looked away. "Aunt Paula told you?"

I nodded, smiling. Then we both laughed hard, holding tight to each other, his shoulders shaking my body from the sheer force of it.

As the laughter subsided, he stroked my hair and looked me square in the eye, smiling. And we lay there for a moment, warm and easy with each other, like it always had been between us. And then suddenly, Troy got up stiffly, and I saw the same soft look in his eye that his father had when talking about his mother. Then without thinking I started to cry, sitting up as he knelt on the floor, knowing now what my mom had meant earlier and what was going to happen next.

"You're wonderful, Gabi," he said, his voice suddenly hoarse. "I keep thinking it'll stop… but every day it just keeps getting better and better." He cleared his throat. "You're beautiful and so smart. You're the best friend I ever had. And… I would be the luckiest guy alive if you married me."

And tears streaming down my cheeks, I cupped his face in my hands and said yes. Then he kissed me and kissed me, again and again and again. And when I had stopped crying, he slipped the sparkling ring on my finger and smiled at me. And then we laughed and held each other, warm in each other's arms, suddenly giddy at what had happened, and what was about to come.

"You won't drop your pants at the wedding, will you?"

He looked serious. "If I feel I'm losing the crowd, I can't promise anything."

"Ohh… I can't believe I agreed to this."

"Well, I'm glad you did." He laughed, kissing me again. "I'm going to love you forever, Montez," he said. "And don't think you can stop me."

I laced the fingers of my left hand through his and clasped the ring tightly between us, smiling. "Ahhh, Bolton. I'm not even going to try."

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**Author's Note**: Who would have thought that a reunion oneshot would have come so far? I just started writing in the first person, and wound up with a pair of characters I love more than any others I've ever written. Anyway, SO MUCH THANKS to all the reviewers who wrote in with their thoughts and loved them as much as I did. Stellar notices go out to the frequent eloquent reviews from: megmae, ZacEfronLuver, tearitapartx3, Egyptian-Fire, wendy04, nadia2008, StillStargirl, Gabriella Bolton, carito06, VUWildcat, elsewhere405 (who submitted the 100th review!), and of course my homegirl xochrissy for her long and lovely responses to this story. I hope I got all of you up there… but truly, anyone who submitted a review was absolutely wonderful. You should all know that!

And as for the future, we may see this Troy and Gabriella again in a series of oneshots or a sequel. I truly do love these characters and may certainly feel the urge to come back to them again. Sadly, however, I'm getting much busier after this week and won't be able to update as much. But I hope you'll keep reading when I do have time to update, especially with the HSM Romance Challenge (link available under my profile). Lots of love!

_Added Note (06/22/2006):_Hey! There's now a sequel to O&A called All the Right Moves. Check it out under my profile!


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